These rankings are pretty meaningless.<p>All of these metrics except for productivity are &quot;density&quot; measures.  That is the size of the state matters (in a way that penalizes states with larger, more diverse economies).<p>A better ranking would be to use CSAs.  Industry clusters are based more on region than states.  State borders are relatively arbitrary with respect to technology clusters.  CSAs are based on commute times so better reflect industry clustering.<p>Having said all that, I think MA is great.  If I didn&#x27;t hate the cold weather and East coast cultural conservatism I would consider moving to the Boston area.