"I'm curious. When you use the patent database to measure location of innovation, are you using the inventors' or assignee's location? Regardless, I would expect this measure to underrepresent innovation in areas where trade secret protection might be more appropriate, such as high tech manufacturing. One other measure I'd like to see is the proportion of the general population that is employed in high-tech. This could allow some lower-density population areas to rank higher." - Brent Logan