Two Americas Election Map: Divided by Tech Jobs

Correction: In an earlier version of this graphic Tennessee appeared in both Americas. It is a high-tech state.

In our Two Americas coverage of the 2012 presidential election, we’re dividing the nation in two using a variety of numbers to see how each candidate performed in various segments of the economy. In this split, we’ve divided the nation by technology jobs. We ranked each state based on the number of tech-related jobs using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled by the industry trade group TechAmerica. Then we split the country in two: one half with lots of tech jobs and one half with few to see which candidate would have carried the vote. Using this data, Romney won the electoral college in the country with fewer tech jobs — and President Obama was re-elected by a landslide in an America with lots of tech jobs.

On the right: The top 25 states (plus the District of Columbia) ranked by the number of tech jobs in each state. On the left: The bottom 25 states in terms of tech employment.