5. North Dakota
> 1-yr. real GDP change: -2.6% (the lowest)
> Avg. salary: $49,795 (19th highest)
> Adults w/ bachelor’s degree: 29.1% (24th lowest)
> Patents issued: 118 (4th lowest)
> Working-age population chg. 2010-2020: +0.4% (15th lowest)
North Dakota has experienced something of a modern gold rush in recent years. After the discovery of the Parshall Oil Field in the Bakken formation in 2006, North Dakota ramped its oil production from less than 200,000 barrels a day to more than 1 million by 2014. While the oil boom has slowed considerably since then, North Dakota’s GDP annual growth rate of 7.7% from 2010 to 2015 was more than that of any other state and four times the national growth rate.
For the many Americans who relocated to North Dakota during the oil boom, the move was likely made easier by the state’s low cost of living. Goods and services cost 92 cents on the dollar in North Dakota compared to the nation as a whole, and the state’s median homeownership expenses amount to just 17.5% of household income — a smaller share than in any state other than West Virginia.