For the layout, selecting the resistor positions, the power dissipation should not be that important, if used at a reference, as the power dissipation would be constant. The power dissipation could be important if the divider is used at variable voltage, e.g. to set an amplifier gain.
So It is not sure the 2 nd version is actually better than the 1 st. It is likely more about a gradient in the resistor properties, so to have the resistors well mixed and evenly distributed. Here the 1st version is still not that good as it has the resistors towards ground are in the center - so a difference from center to edges would show up. The 2nd version is more like a little biased left to right.