High-Tech Corral: Dallas-Fort Worth Area Ropes No. 5 Ranking Among U.S. Cybercities
DFW area reaffirms its status as high-tech hub with 176,000 employed in technology industry

Dallas, TX (June 24, 2008) – AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, ranked the Dallas-Fort Worth area fifth among U.S. cities in high-tech employment, according to the recently released Cybercities 2008: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities. The report – which tracks trends in high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll, employment concentration, and wage differential at the metropolitan level – found that the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s high-tech industry employed 176,000 in 2006, the fifth largest in the nation, according to the most current metropolitan data available. DFW also added 2,800 high-tech jobs in 2006, a two percent increase from the previous year.

Also mentioned in the report, the Dallas-Fort Worth area continues to be important for telecommunications services, employing 39,900 in 2006. The area also had the highest communications equipment manufacturing employment in the nation with 13,000 employees working in the field. In addition, DFW’s high-tech employees averaged $83,100 in annual wages in 2006, 72 percent higher then the average private sector position.

“As the fifth largest high-tech employment cluster in the nation, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is critical to the tech industry,” said AeA Texas Council Chairperson Douglas Bartek. “DFW is attractive because of its unique culture, many universities, large corporations, highly skilled workforce, and, of course, the Dallas Cowboys. As more and more high-tech companies migrate toward the Dallas-Fort Worth area, they learn what the rest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area residents have come to discover – DFW is a great place to live, work, and play.”

Cybercities 2008 shows that the top five cybercities by high-tech employment in 2006 were the New York Metro Area, Washington, DC, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The nation’s highest tech industry concentration was in San Jose/Silicon Valley, where more than one in four private sector workers were employed by the tech industry. Seattle saw the largest tech industry employment growth, adding 7,800 jobs in 2006.

Later this summer, AeA will release Trade in the Cyberstates 2008: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade. That report will look at the most recent data on high-tech exports from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

AeA members can purchase Cybercities 2008 for $125; non-members for $250.  Visit www.aeanet.org/cybercities to download the report, or call 408.987.4200. 

What Does High Tech Mean for Dallas-Fort Worth?

• 176,000 high-tech workers in 2006 (5th ranked cybercity)
   

• 2,800 jobs gained between 2005 and 2006 (10th ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech firms employed 72 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006 (22nd ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $83,100 (18th ranked cybercity), or 72 percent more than Dallas-Fort Worth’s average private sector wage
   

• A high-tech payroll of $14.6 billion in 2006 (5th ranked cybercity)
   

• 7,500 high-tech establishments in 2006 (7th ranked cybercity)

Dallas-Fort Worth’s National Industry Sector Rankings:

• 2nd in telecommunications services employment with 39,900 jobs
   

• 2nd in internet services employment with 20,900 jobs
   

• 6th in computer systems design and related services employment with 33,500 jobs

Notes:

Dallas-Fort Worth = Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, and Wise counties in Texas.

Data are for 2006 unless otherwise noted.

2006 data are the most current available for employment, wages, payroll, establishments, and industry sector jobs.

Source: Cybercities 2008

Published by AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology (www.aeanet.org)

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AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association, representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org.   

This page was last updated on 06/23/08.            
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