By John Cook, Originally published by GeekWire
Silicon Valley may get all of the buzz. But don’t underestimate the power of Seattle and its surrounding communities.
A new analysis by Bloomberg indicates that Washington state — home to Amazon, Expedia and Microsoft — is the most innovative place in the country. California ranked second, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Oregon.
There are no shortage of studies ranking innovation centers and startup hubs, but Bloomberg’s analysis offers some hard-crunched data, looking at things such as patents, tech jobs and public tech companies in each state. The report notes:
Washington, known for rainy Seattle, abundant greenery and fleece-clad citizens, had the highest total score, not by topping any of the categories — California is highest in patent activity and five states have more skilled workers — but by placing near the top. That’s due to the large technology workforce, high productivity rates and plethora of public companies in aerospace, biotechnology and computer technology.