The NH Advantage Is Vindicated in Boston

This article first appeared at JBartlett.org.

It seems not that long ago when New Englanders thought of the South and Southwest as economic and educational backwaters. Boston’s elite universities, vibrant economy, fashionable culture and well-funded public schools gave many New Englanders, particularly those in Massachusetts, a snooty attitude toward places like Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Arizona and the Carolinas.

That attitude is fading as more jobs, employers and young people move South and Southwest and as those state economies and education systems improve.

From 2009 to 2024, only one New England state — Massachusetts — had a population growth rate above the national average, according to a Pew analysis of U.S. Census data . The South is America’s fastest-growing region . Las