Rankings were compiled using USPTO source data curated by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. We analyzed US utility grants for 2011 and attributed those patents to different US States based on the existence of at least one inventor from that State. Patents can be counted more than once if there are multiple inventors from different States.
* Population data is from the US Census Bureau and is based on the resident population for 2009. Guam, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are based on 2009 estimates found either at the Census Bureau or Wikipedia.