CorrelateAI › Pairs

US Resident Patent Applications vs US Urban Population

US Resident Patent Applications and US Urban Population correlate at r = +0.93 over 42 years (1980–2021), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = +0.29. Likely spurious (shared time trend).

Verdict: Likely spurious (shared time trend). Both series mostly just trend over time. After removing that trend the correlation collapses to 0.29 — the relationship is probably coincidental, not causal.

Pearson r
+0.93
p-value
< 0.0001
Years compared (n)
42 (1980–2021)
95% confidence interval
0.88 to 0.96
Correlation with the time trend removed
+0.29

Sources

Related pairs

Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.