Is Your City a “Loser”? This Map Tells It Like It Is

I ran across this intriguing map on Tim Berry’s blog. The map is originally from the Forbes web site.

Click on any U.S. county, and you can see the net outflows and inflows of population for 2008. If you follow macroeconomics and demographics at all (and who doesn’t, right?), the map is truly fascinating. Just clicking on the major cities on the bottom left is illustrative in itself.

A Few Observations:

1. As an adoptive Floridian, I was surprised by the net outflow of most major Florida counties to the sunbelt West. Would love to hear opinions on this one.
2. Not surprised at all by the Detroit results, but it is nonetheless brutal to see in graphic form.
3. Curious if the New Orleans data include returning, post-Katrina residents – it seems probable. It is almost the inverse of the Detroit map.
4. Originally surprised by the inflow to the New York area, but then after further scrutiny, realized it is only Manhattan. The surrounding metro NYC counties have heavy outflow.
5. Random clicking in small rural counties shows how truly isolated some parts of the country still are.
6. Extremely curious to see the 2009 map and the effect of the October 2008 crash on population migrations. Obviously, this is partially reflected in the 2008 data.

So, what does all this have to do with small business? Not a lot, except to say: all other things being equal, if you’re going to step up to the entrepreneurial roulette table – bet on black.