You need more than a single datapoint to determine something like good governance. From what I've read a lot of Texas' growth can be attributed to its geology (They have lots of oil and gas), demography (They have lots of immigrants willing to take on various jobs), and its geography (They share a border with Mexico and have port access with the Gulf. They trade a ton with Latin America.) (1) Don't get me wrong it's still growth, but not really a recepie that can be applied to all States.

As a young person looking to start a business soon, Austin's downtown and cheap rent look very appealing. Though unfortunately I think the cheap rent thing is going to change soon, haha.

(1) http://swampland.time.com/2013/05/10/obama-and-perry-and-the...