1: North Dakota
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 5.19 percent (50th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 1,117 (50th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 3.11 percent (33rd)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 10.85 percent (22nd)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.61 (30th)
Photo: An oil rig in North Dakota
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2: South Dakota
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 5.45 percent (49th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 1,397 49th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.64 percent (40th)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 6.68 percent (47th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 0.66 percent (47th)
Photo: A cowboy herds buffalo in South Dakota
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3: Iowa
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 5.67 percent (48th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 4,659 (34th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.82 percent (37th)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 7.98 percent (43rd)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.58 percent (31st)
Photo: Raw corn
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4: Mississippi
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 5.71 percent (47th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 3,469 (37th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.02 percent (47th)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 6.82 percent (46th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 0.84 percent (43rd)
Photo: A shack in Mississippi
5: West Virginia
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 5.92 percent (46th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 2,343 (43rd)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.40 percent (43rd)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 7.64 percent (45th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.32 percent (34th)
Photo: A young girl shows her support for the lost coal miners in Montcoal, West Virginia on April 9, 2010, following a deadly mine explosion
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6: Nebraska
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 6.28 percent (45th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 3,269 (39th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 3.32 percent (29th)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 8.21 percent (42nd)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.16 percent (37th)
Photo: A University of Nebraska Cornhuskers fan
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7: Maine
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 6.34 percent (44th)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 2,642 (41st)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.72 percent (38th)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 7.87 percent (44th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.03 percent (39th)
Photo: A delicious lobster.
8: Kentucky
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 6.37 percent (43rd)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 5,893 (32nd)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.61 percent (41st)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 8.22 (41st)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 0.94 percent (41st)
Photo: A worker rolls a Jim Beam bourbon barrel
9: Alabama
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 6.51 percent (42nd)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 6,754 (29th)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 3.56 percent (23rd)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 9.05 (34th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 2.87 percent (10th)
Photo: University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban
10: Tennessee
Business establishments in high-tech industries: 6.52 (41st)
Total business establishments in high-tech industries: 8,882 (22nd)
Workers in science or engineering occupations: 2.60 percent (42nd)
Workers employed by high-tech businesses: 9.05 percent (36th)
R&D spending as a percentage of state GDP: 1.49 percent (32nd)
Photo: A cow, in repose, in Tennessee.
