Check out my story today on where Florida ranks in the tech industry. As a state we're No. 4, but a report from the AeA has us as the second-fastest growing cyberstate, when they take into account high-tech employment, wages, payroll and establishments.
The South Florida area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties) ranks top in the state according to the report, even though this area only added about 50 jobs between 2004 and 2005. But we have about 75,300 tech industry workers here (as of 2005 data). Orlando is another huge tech hub, and it added the most tech jobs in the state with 2,500 new jobs.
There's much debate about how true these rankings are on the story's comments, and there are some interesting points being made. But keep in mind all the data is based off numbers from 2005, which is the most recent data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I imagine things can be feeling different now in the industry compared to the statistics from two years ago.
Top 10 Florida Cybercities by Employment
Rank |
State |
2004 |
2005 |
Change |
Change |
Florida |
265,500 |
276,400 |
+4% |
+10,900 | |
1. |
Miami/Fort Lauderdale |
75,200 |
75,300 |
+0% |
+50 |
2. |
Tampa/St. Petersburg |
53,800 |
55,900 |
+4% |
+2,100 |
3. |
Orlando |
40,200 |
42,600 |
+6% |
+2,500 |
4. |
Palm Bay/Melbourne |
20,000 |
20,900 |
+5% |
+900 |
5. |
Jacksonville |
16,200 |
18,200 |
+12% |
+2,000 |
6. |
Tallahassee |
5,400 |
5,900 |
+10% |
+500 |
7. |
Sarasota |
5,000 |
5,300 |
+7% |
+400 |
8. |
Fort Walton Beach |
3,600 |
4,600 |
+26% |
+900 |
9. |
Cape Coral/Fort Myers |
4,200 |
4,400 |
+6% |
+200 |
10. |
Deltona/Daytona Beach |
3,900 |
3,300 |
-15% |
-600 |
Top 10 Florida Cybercities by Wage Differential (2005)
Rank |
State |
High Tech Wages |
Private Sector Wages |
Wage Differential |
Florida |
$61,100 |
$36,100 |
70% | |
1. |
Fort Walton Beach |
$61,900 |
$30,800 |
101% |
2. |
Sarasota |
$62,600 |
$33,100 |
89% |
3. |
Tallahassee |
$55,600 |
$31,500 |
76% |
4. |
Orlando |
$63,600 |
$36,200 |
76% |
5. |
Palm Bay/Melbourne |
$65,800 |
$37,800 |
74% |
6. |
Tampa/St. Petersburg |
$60,800 |
$35,800 |
70% |
7. |
Jacksonville |
$61,900 |
$37,500 |
65% |
8. |
Miami/Fort Lauderdale |
$61,600 |
$39,200 |
57% |
9. |
Deltona/Daytona Beach |
$44,800 |
$28,800 |
56% |
10. |
Cape Coral/Fort Myers |
$51,300 |
$34,700 |
48% |
Source: Florida Cybercities 2007
Comments