FYI, the Birmingham blob contains quite a lot of rural area. The Opelika/Auburn, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville areas are entirely unrepresented. In the 2000 census, Opelika ranked #32 in the country for percentage of local population with graduate degrees, Huntsville ranked #66, Tuscaloosa #79. It also appears as if the Mobile area is only partially represented. If you cut out those areas, then Alabama does indeed look incredibly dumb.