Connect with us

Economy

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

Published

on

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.

RankStateAverage hourly wage for tech workersAverage salary for tech workers% more that tech workers earn than all occupations
1Alabama$41.69$86,72085%
2Washington$58.96$122,64083%
3North Carolina$44.19$91,92080%
4Texas$45.04$93,69079%
5Virginia$51.50$107,13078%
6California$56.16$116,82078%
7Georgia$44.00$91,51076%
8Delaware$47.76$99,34075%
9Mississippi$34.48$71,72072%
10Ohio$41.48$86,27067%
11Idaho$37.65$78,32067%
12New Hampshire$45.50$94,65067%
13South Carolina$37.06$77,08067%
14Iowa$39.34$81,82066%
15Florida$39.81$82,81066%
16Maryland$50.55$105,15065%
17Colorado$48.33$100,52065%
18Arkansas$35.28$73,39064%
19Kentucky$36.21$75,33064%
20Missouri$39.44$82,04064%
21New Jersey$50.04$104,09063%
22Pennsylvania$42.29$87,97063%
23Arizona$41.84$87,03063%
24Oregon$44.25$92,04062%
25West Virginia$35.29$73,41062%
26Kansas$37.70$78,42061%
27Tennessee$36.86$76,66061%
28Utah$39.82$82,83061%
29Minnesota$45.47$94,57061%
30Indiana$37.66$78,34061%
31Nebraska$38.83$80,77061%
32Illinois$44.87$93,32061%
33Wisconsin$39.55$82,27061%
34Oklahoma$36.33$75,56060%
35New Mexico$38.06$79,16059%
36Louisiana$35.50$73,84059%
37Nevada$38.29$79,65058%
38Maine$38.48$80,03056%
39South Dakota$33.65$70,00056%
40Rhode Island$44.43$92,41053%
41Michigan$39.32$81,78053%
42New York$49.65$103,28052%
43Montana$34.40$71,54051%
44Massachusetts$50.67$105,40051%
45Vermont$38.55$80,18050%
46Connecticut$45.94$95,55046%
47Hawaii$40.32$83,87044%
48North Dakota$34.53$71,82037%
49Alaska$40.02$83,25035%
50Wyoming$32.52$67,64032%
51District of Columbia$54.78$113,93020%

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.

Click for Comments

Economy

Mapped: Unemployment Claims by State

This visual heatmap of unemployment claims by state highlights New York, California, and Alaska leading the country by a wide margin.

Published

on

Mapped: Weekly Unemployment Claims by State

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Unemployment claims per 100,000 people is a handy metric for gauging the health of the job market. Generally speaking, a higher number of claims suggests that more people are unemployed, which may highlight issues with the economy.

In this graphic, we’ve visualized the number of weekly initial unemployment claims per 100,000 people in the labor force across the U.S., using data from WalletHub. All figures are for the week ending Feb 26, 2024, with data being released in early March.

StateUnemployment Claims
per 100,000 People
in the Labor Force
New York305
California246
Alaska227
New Jersey180
Vermont169
Connecticut162
Pennsylvania161
Hawaii161
Wisconsin145
Massachusetts144
Nevada142
DC138
Washington134
Rhode Island133
Oregon130
Illinois127
Minnesota121
Michigan118
Idaho117
Wyoming112
New Hampshire111
West Virginia108
Iowa106
Montana102
Texas100
Maine96
Ohio95
Colorado86
Arkansas86
Arizona85
Georgia85
Tennessee83
Alabama80
Missouri79
New Mexico77
Kansas74
Indiana73
Kentucky71
North Dakota70
South Carolina69
Louisiana68
Mississippi67
Maryland64
Oklahoma58
North Carolina55
Nebraska52
Utah52
Florida51
Virginia48
Delaware42
South Dakota28

Across the country, there are 6.1 million Americans unemployed as of end of February, resulting in a national unemployment rate of around 3.9%. Notably, this is the highest figure seen since January 2022.

States With the Largest Increases

For further context, we can examine the change in unemployment claims by state for the period of Jan 1- Feb 26, in 2024 and 2023.

States that saw the biggest rise over this period were New York, New Jersey, and Nevada. A top 10 list can be found below.

StateChange in
Unemployment Claims
(Jan-Feb, 2023 vs 2024)
New York2,725%
New Jersey2,132%
Nevada505%
Arizona51%
Iowa45%
Maryland35%
North Carolina34%
Virginia31%
Montana25%
Oklahoma24%

From a broader perspective, weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance across the U.S. have hovered around the low 200,000s in 2024. This is generally in line with figures seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the week of April 4, 2020, unemployment claims spiked to 6.137 million due to COVID-related lockdowns and business closures.

Learn More About the U.S Job Market

Before you go, be sure to check out Visualizing the American Workforce as 100 People to gain a unique perspective on the U.S. economy.

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular