Because the premise of the question was Silicon Valley, so they need a category that separates Silicon Valley away from as much as possible without making the l

Because the premise of the question was Silicon Valley, so they need a category that separates Silicon Valley away from as much as possible without making the list too long. So split every state out and then have every country after that as those are also "outside silicon valley". If it was just the US as a single option it would not actually fit the premise of the question. This question feels primarily aimed at the US population, IMO.