5 regions that will flourish in 2012

Forbes highlighted the five regions that are most poised to flourish in 2012 and help boost the national economy, as reported on New Geography.

1. The Energy Belt.

Demand from developing countries and China will be beneficial for energy-rich regions, particularly Texas, Oklahoma, the Dakotas, Montana, Louisiana and Wyoming, according to New Geography. Goldman Sachs recently predicted that the United States will become the world’s largest oil producer by 2017.

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2. The Agricultural Heartland.

Omaha, Neb., is not in the energy belt, but its strong agriculture-based economy keeps its unemployment rate well under 5%, said New Geography. Urban economies like Des Moines are also expanding into finance and other non-farm related activities.

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3. The New Foundry.

The biggest beneficiaries of American manufacturing’s revival will likely be in the Southeast and along the Texas corridor connected to Mexico, according to New Geography. Of the ten foreign auto assembly plants opened or announced between 1997 and 2008, eight were in Southern right-to-work states.

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4. The Technosphere.

Over the past year, San Jose-Silicon Valley, Boston and Seattle all stood in the top five in job creation among the country’s 32 largest metro areas, said New Geography.

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5. The Pacific Northwest.

Both Washington and Oregon enjoy considerable in-migration, in sharp contrast to New York, California and Illinois. They also have a more varied economy than Silicon Valley, with strong companies connected to retail (Amazon, Costco and Starbucks), aerospace (Boeing) and software (Microsoft), according to New Geography.