The Cybercities 2010 report by the Tech America Foundation outlines trends in high-tech employment, wages, employment concentration, and wage differential at the metropolitan level. Cybercities 2010 reveals the top 10 cybercities by high-tech employment are New York, Washington, DC, San Jose (Silicon Valley), Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia and Houston.
Nearly 30% of private sector workers were employed by the tech industry in Silicon Valley and surprisingly, Oklahoma City saw the largest tech industry growth, adding over 900 jobs. Huntsville added just under 900 and San Diego added nearly 500.
Out of all of the cybercities, 57 had wage differentials over 50% and only Austin, San Diego and Colorado Springs had wage differentials higher than 100%.
The top five cybercities by high-tech wages were Silicon Valley ($132,100), San Francisco ($123,500), Boston ($102,200), Washington, DC ($100,500) and Durham ($100,400), which in my assessment seems relatively low for the tech sector, and I cannot confirm methodology as to how they calculated wages.
“Most of the metro areas we examined lost tech jobs in 2009 as the full force of the economic downturn hit the industry,” said Josh James, vice president, research and industry analysis, TechAmerica Foundation. “These are the types of jobs every city wants. They are very well-paid, with 57 of the 60 cybercities having average tech industry wages that are 50 percent higher than the average private sector wage. Three of those cybercities — Colorado Springs, Austin, and San Diego — have average tech wages that are more than double those of the private sector.”
“High-tech jobs make critical contributions to local economies in terms of innovation and high wages,” said Phillip J. Bond, chair, TechAmerica Foundation. “But how to attract and retain them is the key question all mayors, city council officials, and local business leaders grapple with. All of these cities compete not only with each other for talent and capital — they compete with technology hubs around the globe. City leaders need to ensure the quality of local K-12 math and science education to prepare children for these high-paying careers. They need to invest in modern infrastructure, including reliable broadband networks that are as critical to economic development today as the electrical grid was a hundred years ago. And lastly, cities must create a business friendly environment that attracts venture capital and cutting edge companies.”
Many agents specialize in relocation and several focus on the tech sector, so it is interesting to watch the rapid expansion and contraction in the industry. We are headquartered in Austin so we are entrenched in tech employment but several cities are not- what is it like in your city?
Stephanie Crawford
December 11, 2010 at 2:30 am
In Nashville, the boutique company I work for has one of the largest Relocation Departments in town. Our founder started going after RELO more than 30 years ago and she’s built a very successful firm and brand out of it. Many of our agents specialize in high-end properties, but I’ll do just about anything residential as no more than one county away. Tech isn’t a big factor here, our biggest industries involve tourism, music, publishing, government and health care. I wish we had more tech around here. We seem centrally located enough for it.