Can anyone explain the pattern in this map?

[they don't love you like i love you]

The red and blue do not mean Republican/Democrat, and it's not based on voting patterns in any way.

[yankeesfan]

The states in red have capital cities that are their largest cities

[Antonio the Sixth]

The states in red have capital cities that are their largest cities

Not Vermont.

[solarstorm]

The states in red have capital cities that are their largest cities

Not Vermont.

I'm sure BRTD just made a mistake here...

[dpmapper]

The states in red have capital cities that are their largest cities

Not Vermont.

I'm sure BRTD just made a mistake here...

... and with South Carolina?

[solarstorm]

The states in red have capital cities that are their largest cities

Not Vermont.

I'm sure BRTD just made a mistake here...

... and with South Carolina?

A second mistake.

I don't know what else he could be looking for...

[they don't love you like i love you]

Yes, Vermont and South Carolina were mistakes. In Vermont's case I realized shortly later that Burlington wasn't the capital, but in the case of SC I was aware of where the capital was, I just assumed Charleston was the largest city, which was not true.

But yes that's it.

[cinyc]

Yes, Vermont and South Carolina were mistakes. In Vermont's case I realized shortly later that Burlington wasn't the capital, but in the case of SC I was aware of where the capital was, I just assumed Charleston was the largest city, which was not true.

But yes that's it.

Columbia is the capital of South Carolina, not Charleston.  It is also the state's largest city.  So it is colored correctly.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Yes after I edited and fixed it.

[Flake]

enlightenment vs resistance

[Gass3268]

Interesting fact, Tennessee will be shifting from blue to red within a couple years.

[muon2]

Interesting fact, Tennessee will be shifting from blue to red within a couple years.

True. Nashville-Davidson grew from 604K to 634K between 4/1/2010 and 7/1/2013, while Memphis grew from 647K to 653K in the same period. Nashville is adding 9.3K a year while Memphis is only adding 2.0K a year. At that rate Nashville should show up ahead of Memphis in the 2016 estimates.

[cinyc]

Two other states that have an outside shot at flipping if growth rates in their second non-capital cities ramp up a bit are Wyoming (Casper) and West Virginia (Huntington). 

Casper has been growing faster than Cheyenne from 2010-2013, but a lot of that growth is likely due to oil and gas exploration.  So unless oil prices rebound, I doubt it will happen.

As for West Virginia, Charleston has been shrinking while Huntington is stagnant or slowly growing, and their populations are already close.  All it woukd take is a point or two difference in relative growth rates over the rest of the decade for Huntington to pass Charleston.  Huntington is at least a college town, so it could happen.