Sunday Night Highlight: New Orleans Named a “New Innovation Hotspot”

Axios has named New Orleans a “New Innovation Hotspot,” as measured by the change in the number of utility patents granted over time per 100,000 residents.

Using data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the New Orleans metro came in #3 for patent growth from 2012-2022:

• The Fayetteville metro area (which includes Bentonville) had 24.9 patents granted for every 100,000 residents in 2022, up from 10.2 in 2012 — a 144% increase
• Louisville, Kentucky had 27.3 patents compared to 13.3 – a 105% increase
• The New Orleans metro had 11.4 compared to 5.6 – a 104% increase
• The national average rate of increase was 11%

A “utility patent” can be granted to anyone who invents or discovers a new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements of these.  Areas of patent strength for New Orleans include:  Medical Technology, Transport, Equipment Manufacturing, and Biotechnology/Pharma.  While San Francisco and San Jose still dominate patent production, it is encouraging to see New Orleans and other parts of the country recognized as “newly ascending areas” for innovation.

You can read more here.

You can see the NSF report that serves as the basis for the analysis here.