Computer World says data from a 2006 survey from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey (tables and maps), released last month, ranks cities based on their percentage of self-reported computer professionals. They call it a “TQ” (technology quotient).
While Silicon Valley comes in number one, the Washington DC area comes in second, with roughly 6% of the D.C. metro area workforce made up of “computer specialists,” compared with 8.3% in Silicon Valley.
The third-highest concentration of IT workers is in Raleigh/Cary, N.C., at 5.3% of the workforce, followed closely by Boulder, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala., each at 5.2%. The remainder of the top 10 technology worker areas is rounded out, in order, by Bloomington/Normal, Ill.; Trenton-Ewing, N.J.; Austin-Round Rock, Texas; Manchester-Nashua, N.H.; and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. The Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, combined OR & WA Metro Area had 30,052 workers or 2.8% of the population.
The Census Bureau data also shows that IT worker pay tends to reflect the percentage of techies in the workforce. The annual average salary for computer and information systems managers in Silicon Valley as of May 2006 was $139,460, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the D.C. metro area, that figure was $122,950. Around Raleigh, N.C., it was $102,880.
Computer World also made their own Google Maps version, or you can search by metro area.
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