California’s success lies in education and weather – tempered by zoning

Two measures accurately predict county growth: education level and climate.

Nationwide, counties in which more than 21% of adults possess college degrees grew by 13%, compared to 3% in the least educated counties over the past decade. This is understandable, as counties with higher education levels are generally more productive and magnetically draw other educated people to them. The best jobs are there.

American counties with January temperatures averaging above 43 degrees grew over 9% during the last decade. Conversely, counties with January temperatures averaging below 22 degrees grew less than 2% over the past ten years.