@Bart H.
In terms of economical driver, for sf Bay Area, we have
1. Silicon Valley, almost all major tech companies that is driving the innovation and new tech.
2. Biotech, Genentech and hundreds of small to mid sized biotech companies (south San Francisco)
3. Financial institutions
4. Education, Stanford, USC Berkeley, and dozens of other higher educations
5. Medical research, UCSF and others
6. Tourism
I used to work in NJ, Boston, and Philadelphia. The competitive advantage of SF Bay Area is its culture and tolerance. Anyone with any crazy idea may get funded. People are willing to take risks and accept unorthodox crazy ideas.
Also, millions of new immigrants came to CA, with new and innovative ideas.
It appears to me that CA is becoming the innovation center for the whole world, not just US.
Therefore, I am bullish on SF Bay Area and its future leadership role in us economy.
Texas, also has quite a few tech centers, which should help driving the new economy.
In the future, in order for US to keep its dominant position in the world, new tech and education are the keys.