Erm... how's that explain MT, WY, ND, SD, NE, MN, KS, IA... flyover country isn't exactly ripe with high paying jobs, at least not white-collar ones. I'm somewhat biased, born and raised in WY, so I have some perspective there. The school systems are (were?) well funded by extractive energy taxes. We had computer labs and computer classes in the early 80's, funded by those same taxes. Everytime I ask/see info about teaching jobs there, it's a low demand/high supply situation so WY gets to be picky on who's hired. Mostly I vividly remember the standardized tests (shit, from nearly half a century ago), my schools, as an average, were in the 90%+ range for the country over at least the 3 tests I remember. And that was WITH Shosoni and Arapahoe (indian) kids since my town was just off the Rez. Mind you, my home town about turned into a ghost town when the main employer closed shop, that being an iron mine. Very much a blue-collar town.