State of the Nation.

Every decade, the U.S. Bureau of the Census takes our nation's pulse. These detailed results complement other findings gathered through the year by private and government data collectors, providing a vivid picture of where our society is headed. With most census results now out, we thought this an opportune time to review America's long-term health. Following are nine essays in which experts describe some of the important things--both positive and negative we've learned recently about how the U.S. is faring deep in its bones and muscles.

Americans Settle Down

By Joel Kotkin

Michael Chambers is precisely the kind of young man one expects to meet in places like Silicon Valley or Austin, Texas. At 27, the microbiology and biotechnology graduate is building his own, already profitable, company. But Chambers has started Aldevron, which produces plasma for DNA therapies, not in one of the traditional metropolitan technology centers, but in his home state of North Dakota. Nor is he alone. Literally hundreds of tech companies have emerged, including software giant Great Plains Software and biotech leader Pracs, here in bustling Fargo, the hub of Cass County, home to some 120,000 people.

In our digital age, the long-term prospects for any place will be defined by the quality of its workforce. That is a big plus for Fargo. Chambers notes that North Dakota has some of the most diligent workers as well as finest public schools in the nation. Science test scores are second in the country, and the state is sixth in the percentage of young people holding bachelor's degrees.

Yet like many who make their home in Fargo, Chambers' reasons for remaining in North Dakota have more to do with lifestyle choices than business considerations. "My family is here," states the young scientist, who grew up in a family of beekeepers in Carrington, a rural North Dakota hamlet of 2,500. Plus "the cost of living is low, people are nice, and, most important, it is a community."

For Mike Chambers, community trumps all those factors that have lured millions of Americans to the bright lights of New York, Los Angeles, or Dallas. He was searching for a place that would be not just a residence and business base, but a home, a place to raise a family, a place in which to participate in a larger spiritual and communal experience.