Out-of-state state schools...is it worth it in our case?

Maybe not in the modern world. But when the US was a manufacturing titan, people lived and worked together in company towns all over the country. I live in New England where it seems that every town was at one time an Industrial Revolution mill town, each with its own industry. Nearby Willimantic is a classic example where 2500 people worked in the American Thread Company mills at its peak. They all lived close enough to walk to work.