Economy

The U.S. States with the Top Tech Salaries in 2021

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2021

Carmen Ang

Average Tech Salary Across the US Best Paying States

The U.S. States with the Top Tech Salaries in 2021

In 2020, despite the economic turmoil caused by the global pandemic, America’s tech sector experienced rapid growth. Last year, the total number of U.S. tech jobs grew by 60,000.

Because of this demand, U.S. employers are willing to pay for the right talent—on average, tech workers in the U.S. earn about 61% more than the average salary. But some tech workers make more than others, depending on where they live.

This graphic by business.org uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to highlight the average annual tech salaries in each state, compared to the average salary of other occupations. We’ll also touch on the top-paying metro areas, and what type of tech jobs offer the highest compensation across the country.

Average U.S. Tech Salaries by State

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Washington and California have the highest average salaries, largely because of the high job density in those areas.

However, when it comes to the difference in tech salary versus average salary, Alabama takes the top spot—on average, tech jobs pay 85% more than other occupations in that state.

Rank	State	Average hourly wage for tech workers	Average salary for tech workers	% more that tech workers earn than all occupations
1	Alabama	$41.69	$86,720	85%
2	Washington	$58.96	$122,640	83%
3	North Carolina	$44.19	$91,920	80%
4	Texas	$45.04	$93,690	79%
5	Virginia	$51.50	$107,130	78%
6	California	$56.16	$116,820	78%
7	Georgia	$44.00	$91,510	76%
8	Delaware	$47.76	$99,340	75%
9	Mississippi	$34.48	$71,720	72%
10	Ohio	$41.48	$86,270	67%
11	Idaho	$37.65	$78,320	67%
12	New Hampshire	$45.50	$94,650	67%
13	South Carolina	$37.06	$77,080	67%
14	Iowa	$39.34	$81,820	66%
15	Florida	$39.81	$82,810	66%
16	Maryland	$50.55	$105,150	65%
17	Colorado	$48.33	$100,520	65%
18	Arkansas	$35.28	$73,390	64%
19	Kentucky	$36.21	$75,330	64%
20	Missouri	$39.44	$82,040	64%
21	New Jersey	$50.04	$104,090	63%
22	Pennsylvania	$42.29	$87,970	63%
23	Arizona	$41.84	$87,030	63%
24	Oregon	$44.25	$92,040	62%
25	West Virginia	$35.29	$73,410	62%
26	Kansas	$37.70	$78,420	61%
27	Tennessee	$36.86	$76,660	61%
28	Utah	$39.82	$82,830	61%
29	Minnesota	$45.47	$94,570	61%
30	Indiana	$37.66	$78,340	61%
31	Nebraska	$38.83	$80,770	61%
32	Illinois	$44.87	$93,320	61%
33	Wisconsin	$39.55	$82,270	61%
34	Oklahoma	$36.33	$75,560	60%
35	New Mexico	$38.06	$79,160	59%
36	Louisiana	$35.50	$73,840	59%
37	Nevada	$38.29	$79,650	58%
38	Maine	$38.48	$80,030	56%
39	South Dakota	$33.65	$70,000	56%
40	Rhode Island	$44.43	$92,410	53%
41	Michigan	$39.32	$81,780	53%
42	New York	$49.65	$103,280	52%
43	Montana	$34.40	$71,540	51%
44	Massachusetts	$50.67	$105,400	51%
45	Vermont	$38.55	$80,180	50%
46	Connecticut	$45.94	$95,550	46%
47	Hawaii	$40.32	$83,870	44%
48	North Dakota	$34.53	$71,820	37%
49	Alaska	$40.02	$83,250	35%
50	Wyoming	$32.52	$67,640	32%
51	District of Columbia	$54.78	$113,930	20%

Why are tech workers so generously compensated in Alabama? It could be because the area’s talent pool is not keeping up with demand.

In 2021, Huntsville, Alabama is expected to see 25,000 new jobs in aerospace, logistics, defense, and other tech-related industries. But these jobs could be difficult to fill given the area’s low unemployment rate.

On the other end of the spectrum, the District of Columbia has the smallest discrepancy between tech and other salaries. But at $95,330, the area has the highest average yearly salary for other occupations in the country—and tech workers still make 20% more.

Top 10 Metro Areas for Tech Salaries

Some of the highest-paying states are also home to the highest-paying metro areas.

For instance, when it comes to pay differences in tech, two of the top 10 metro areas are located in Washington state, while three are in California. The graphic below shows the metros with the highest difference between the area’s average salary and the average salary of tech jobs.

Top Tech Salaries

The highest pay difference between tech jobs vs the average salary is in San Jose, where tech workers make 507% more on average. This figure is almost certainly skewed because of the area’s high concentration of tech millionaires and top tier programmers.

Highest Paying Tech Jobs Nationally

Of course, location isn’t the only factor that plays into salary—the type of job is important, too. Here’s a look at U.S. tech salaries, organized by job type:

Highest Paying Tech Jobs US

In this analysis, which looked at jobs in computer science as well as mathematics, actuaries are the highest paid professionals on average.

While actuaries are more on the mathematical and financial side of the equation, more commonly associated jobs with tech are all over the list as well: software developers, computer network architects, information security analysts, data scientists, computer programmers, web developers, computer systems analysts, and so on.

The Future of Tech is Bright

America’s information technology sector, worth about $1.6 trillion, is expected to grow to $5 trillion by the end of 2021. And as this fast-growing industry continues to boom, jobs in this sector are likely to remain in high supply.

Augmented Reality (AR) in the U.S. is looking especially promising and is projected to grow by a CAGR of 100% between 2021-2025.

In short, tech is expected to keep growing. And salaries will likely follow suit.

Related Topics:US san jose california tech sector tech jobs tech salaries

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Politics

How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?

Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point since Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

Published

5 days ago

December 2, 2023

Bruno Venditti

How Much Do Americans Trust the Media?

Media trust among Americans has reached its lowest point in six years.

Gallup began its survey on media trust in 1972, repeating it in 1974 and 1976. After a long period, the public opinion firm restarted the polls in 1997 and has asked Americans about their confidence level in the mass media—newspapers, TV, and radio—almost every year since then.

The above graphic illustrates Gallup’s latest poll results, conducted in September 2023.

Americans’ Trust in Mass Media, 1972-2023

Americans’ confidence in the mass media has sharply declined over the last few decades.

Trust in the mass media	% Great deal/Fair amount	% Not very much	% None at all
1972	68	24	6
1974	69	21	8
1976	72	22	4
1997	53	31	15
1998	55	35	9
1999	55	34	11
2000	51	37	12
2001	53	33	14
2002	54	35	11
2003	54	35	11
2004	44	39	16
2005	50	37	12
2007	47	35	17
2008	43	35	21
2009	45	37	18
2010	43	36	21
2011	44	36	19
2012	40	39	21
2013	44	33	22
2014	40	36	24
2015	40	36	24
2016	32	41	27
2017	41	29	29
2018	45	30	24
2019	41	30	28
2020	40	27	33
2021	36	29	34
2022	34	28	38
2023	32	29	39

In 2016, the number of respondents trusting media outlets fell below the tally of those who didn’t trust the media at all. This is the first time that has happened in the poll’s history.

That year was marked by sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In 2017, the use of the term ‘fake news’ rose by 365% on social media, and the term was named the word of the year by dictionary publisher Collins.

The Lack of Faith in Institutions and Social Media

Although there’s no single reason to explain the decline of trust in the traditional media, some studies point to potential drivers.

According to Michael Schudson, a sociologist and historian of the news media and a professor at the Columbia Journalism School, in the 1970s, faith in institutions like the White House or Congress began to decline, consequently impacting confidence in the media.

“That may have been a necessary corrective to a sense of complacency that had been creeping in—among the public and the news media—that allowed perhaps too much trust: we accepted President Eisenhower’s lies about the U-2 spy plane, President Kennedy’s lies about the ‘missile gap,’ President Johnson’s lies about the war in Vietnam, President Nixon’s lies about Watergate,”
Michael Schudson – Columbia Journalism School

More recently, the internet and social media have significantly changed how people consume media. The rise of platforms such as X/Twitter and Facebook have also disrupted the traditional media status quo.

Partisans’ Trust in Mass Media

Historically, Democrats have expressed more confidence in the media than Republicans.

Democrats’ trust, however, has fallen 12 points over the past year to 58%, compared with 11% among Republicans and 29% among independents.

How-Much-Do-Americans-Trust-the-Media

According to Gallup, Republicans’ low confidence in the media has little room to worsen, but Democrat confidence could still deteriorate and bring the overall national reading down further.

The poll also shows that young Democrats have less confidence in the media than older Democrats, while Republicans are less varied in their views by age group.