This year’s election has brought into stark relief all kinds of divides in America. Red and blue, rural and urban--and college educated versus non-college educated. And it’s grown increasingly clear that when people gain a college degree, they don’t tend to stay in rural areas.
This has led to booming economies on the coasts, in cities like San Diego and Boston. But the so-called “brain-drain” in the heartland was one of the factors that propelled Donald Trump to victory.
The New York Times has published a study of which states have benefited and suffered from this phenomenon.
Of High Plains states, Texas and Colorado have seen a net gain of college-educated citizens. Oklahoma has been mostly flat, with college grads neither leaving or moving in. But Kansas and Nebraska have seen net losses of educated residents. However, those states haven’t been as hard-hit as some other states, like Mississippi, Utah and North Dakota.