Revisiting LEED-Certified Projects

We recently looked at the number of LEED certified projects for each state (here)... but do those numbers actually tell us anything about what states are being the most progressive in sustainable design? Perhaps a more accurate measurement would include population data (2010 Census Data) to draw out different comparisons. Listed below are the Total Number of LEED-Certified Projects per 100 thousand residents of a given state.

LEED-Certified Projects per 100k People

Top 10

1. Vermont (5.91)

2. Oregon (5.72)

3. Arizona (5.04)

4. Illinois (5.00)

5. Colorado (4.91)

6. Alabama (4.65)

7. Washington (4.52)

8. Iowa (4.15)

9. Massachusetts (3.59)

10. Maine (3.39)

Bottom 10

50. Idaho (0.23)

49. Alaska (0.31)

48. Louisiana (0.35)

47. West Virgina (0.43)

46. North Dakota (0.45)

45. Oklahoma (0.53)

44. Mississippi (0.61)

43. Arkansas (0.63)

42. Kentucky (0.78)

41. Tennessee (1.17)

Interesting note- Washington DC (14.48), has far more LEED-Certified Projects than any state.

What can we derive from this? The "Top 10" has drastically changed between the two most recently discussed lists, and there are some definite regional-patterns shown in the Bottom 10. Whats this mean for designs? Do the LEED rating systems fail to effectively account for regional differences in their rating systems? Is it a cultural issue? A demographic issue?