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CompTIA Cyberstates 2017™ finds state leads nation in tech employment, wages and innovation

Sacramento, Calif. – California’s technology industry employment grew by an estimated 4.3 percent in 2016 as employers added some 48,500 new jobs, according to Cyberstates 2017™, the definitive annual analysis of the nation’s tech industry released today by CompTIA, the world’s leading technology association.

With an estimated 1,186,471 workers, California leads the nation in tech industry employment by a wide margin. The second-ranked state, Texas, has an estimated tech industry workforce of approximately 593,000.

Technology occupations across all other industries in California – the second component of the tech workforce – reached an estimated 1,029,900 in 2016.

The tech sector accounts for an estimated 12.6 percent ($312.1 billion) of California’s economy.

The annualized average wage for a California tech industry worker was an estimated $154,000 in 2016, 148 percent higher than the average state wage ($62,000). California ranks first nationwide in average tech industry wages.

Other Key Findings

• California ranks first among all states in the Cyberstates 2017 Innovation Score, which is based on an analysis of new tech patents, tech startups and new tech business establishments on a per capita basis.
• The state is home to an estimated 51,138 tech business establishments.
• The tech industry employs an estimated 7.2 percent of the overall state workforce.
• Leading tech occupations include application software developers (136,590), systems software developers (88,990) and computer systems analysts (79,980).
• The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of Internet services (+ 17.4 percent) and computer systems design and IT services (+ 6.9 percent).
• Employers posted an estimated 88,637 job openings for tech occupations in Q4 2016.

“California is the birthplace of America’s tech industry and our continued leadership is the result of the quintessential innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in our DNA,” said Panorea Avdis, Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “The California tech industry supports over 1.18 million jobs across the state and GO-Biz is proud to work with so many brilliant and innovative California tech companies that are developing the advancements of tomorrow.”

“The Cyberstates data affirms the strength and vitality of California’s tech industry, and attests to its essential standing in the economy,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “Technology enables innovation and generates growth for companies, regardless of their size, locale or markets served.”

Around the Golden State

Tech industry employment in the Los Angeles market is approaching 288,000 workers, led by application software developers, computer user support specialists and systems software developers. An estimated 14,743 tech business establishments are based in the Los Angeles area.

San Francisco recorded an estimated 4.8 percent increase in tech industry employment last year, adding approximately 12,100 new positions. The leading tech occupations are application software developers, computer systems analysts and systems software developers. More than 9,600 tech business establishments are located in the San Francisco area.

About 6,300-plus tech business establishments are based in the San Jose metropolitan area.  Employment expanded by about 3,000 jobs in 2016, led by growth in computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing (+ 5.3 percent) and computer systems design and IT services (+ 3.4 percent).

The San Diego metropolitan area added an estimated 1,270 tech industry jobs last year, paced by growth in measuring and control instruments manufacturing jobs (+ 4.8 percent). Some 5,000 tech business establishments call the San Diego area home.

Cyberstates 2017 is based on CompTIA’s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, EMSI, and other sources. Estimates for 2016 are subject to change as government data is revised and updated. The complete report with full national, state and metropolitan level data is available at http://www.cyberstates.org/.

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The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading technology association, with approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners, over 100,000 registered users and more than two million IT certifications issued. CompTIA's unparalleled range of programs foster workforce skills development and generate critical knowledge and insight – building the foundation for technology’s future. Visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more. 

Contact:

Preston Grisham
CompTIA
pgrisham@comptia.org
(202) 862-4458

Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
sostrowski@comptia.org
630-678-8468