The American Electronics Association released its first-ever report listing the nation’s 60 largest high-tech areas and the results show San Jose, Calif. narrowly edged out Boston as the nation's most-wired city.
The "Cybercities: A City By City Overview of the High-Technology Industry" report states that as of the end of 1998, San Jose reported having 252,888 tech workers, compared to 234,822 in Boston. Rounding out the top five were Chicago, with 180,400 high-tech workers; Washington, D.C. and surrounding area with 177,700 techies; and Dallas, with 176,600 people in that sector.
The study also finds that cities with mid-sized tech communities -– such as Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and even Colorado Springs -- are producing jobs at a higher rate than established high-tech hubs, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
"That was a big surprise to us that these medium places are the ones that are growing the fastest," William Archey, the AEA's president and chief executive, told the Mercury News. "We were surprised at Houston. When you think of Texas, you think of Dallas and Austin, not Houston."
Critics of the study say it is already inaccurate, however, because it relies on two-year-old information. But it does reiterate that the technology industry is affecting the U.S. on a national scale, the newspaper reports.
The study also offers an interesting perspective for nonprofits in their use of technology. Organizations based near one of those 60 areas should be able to find tech resources, while those that aren’t near a high-tech city may need to seek out additional support in the form of volunteer help or donations of cash, equipment and services.
The drawback for nonprofits in these "most-wired" areas is that wages in the high-tech sector have soared, meaning it's harder to attract qualified employees with those skills.
The median income for a high-tech worker in Seattle at the end of 1998 was a staggering $129,300 a year. San Jose's average wage was $85,100, and Middlesex, N.J., San Francisco and Austin, Texas reported high-tech income averages ranging from $76,300 to $78,800 a year.
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