[ddebernardy]

There are things you can do in larger cities that you can't do in smaller ones. The small-ish city I live in, for instance, has ~145k people in its metro area. There are exactly 5 restaurants that are worth going to; there was not a single sushi place until last year; the best bakery in town is -- of all places -- Aldi, a discount chain; and there is exactly one movie theater that periodically shows foreign movies.

The other big problem is getting to work. I'm lucky to have a remote career. If that was not the case I'd almost certainly need to commute 2-3h/day to the nearest big city.

From a business standpoint it also makes sense to go to where the action is: startups flock to SF because it's full of VC money, talent, and startup-friendly customers. Given this, the tax rate is just a cost of doing business. You almost certainly want an office in that area if you're intent on raising VC money.

As to the State level problems you describe, the US doesn't work like the EU. Part of the EU budget gets poured into its poorer countries and regions. The US equivalent would be to pour federal money into poorer states and counties. I'm not aware of any such direct cash infusions occurring, nor can I imagine any occurring in today's polarized environment. What seems much more likely, is states doing this work within themselves. Also, ND seems to be doing fine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_countie...