Report: Pa. Ranks Eighth in Tech Employment

Pennsylvania ranks eighth among U.S. states for the size of its tech-oriented workforce, a new report says.

The Cyberstates 2016 report was produced by CompTIA. It said there were 228,754 tech workers in the state, making an average wage of $92,179. That average wage ranked 18th among the states.

Still, the tech sector’s growth in 2015 was much slower here than nationally — just a 0.6 percent growth in Pennsylvania compared to 3 percent nationwide. And while wages grew by 1.2 percent nationally, they declined a bit in Pennsylvania, by 0.1 percent. The state jus about kept up with patent growth, though, raising that rate by 8.2 percent — the national rate was 8.4 percent.

California led the nation with 1.15 million tech workers — unsurprisingly for the home of Silicon Valley. It was followed by Texas, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and Illinois. Pennsylvania has shuffled back and forth on the rankings since 2009, rising to seventh on several occasions.

New Jersey ranked 10th in employment, but fourth in average wages at $118,490. Delaware ranked 41st in employment — and eighth in average tech wages, at $106,644.

The full report can be read here.