Back in 2014, we posted a blog titled, “Best/Worst States for IT Jobs.” That blog, based on research conducted by CRN (a company who provides objective news, analysis and perspective for the IT industry), looked at the top five best states – and the five worst – for IT jobs. The rankings were based off of the concentration of tech workers in each state. The findings concluded that the Philadelphia region was a great place to seek tech employment as both Delaware and Maryland ranked in the top five.
A lot has changed since then, however. So today we thought we’d dive a little deeper. Instead of just looking at what the best and worst states for tech employment are, we decided to look at the state of the tech industry for those states in our region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania). For each state we’ll be addressing net tech employment, net employment as a percentage of overall workforce, tech occupation job postings, the leading tech occupations, the leading tech industry sectors, the economic impact of the tech sector in each state, and how the average tech industry wage compares to the average state wage.
For reference, all of the information reported on in this blog post was found in CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2018 – the definitive national, state, and city analysis of the U.S. tech industry and tech workforce.
The findings:
Delaware
Net Tech Employment: 31,900
Net Employment as a % of Overall Workforce: 6.6%
Tech Occupation Job Postings: 14,790
Leading Tech Occupations:
- Software and Web Developers
- Computer System and Information Security Analysts
- Network Architects, Administrators, and Support Specialists
Leading Tech Industry Sectors:
- IT Services and Custom Software Services
- R&D, Testing, and Engineering Services
- Tech Manufacturing
- Telecommunications and Internet Services
Economic Impact: 7.4% ($4.7 billion) – Estimated direct contribution of the tech sector to the Delaware economy
Wage Comparison: The average tech industry wage is 83% higher than the average state wage – $101,170 vs $55,340
Maryland
Net Tech Employment: 284,600
Net Employment as a % of Overall Workforce: 9.5%
Tech Occupation Job Postings: 79,650
Leading Tech Occupations:
- Software and Web Developers
- Network Architects, Administrators, and Support Specialists
- Computer System and Information Security Analysts
Leading Tech Industry Sectors:
- IT Services and Custom Software Services
- R&D, Testing, and Engineering Services
- Telecommunications and Internet Services
- Tech Manufacturing
Economic Impact: 10.9% ($36.9 billion) – Estimated direct contribution of the tech sector to the Maryland economy
Wage Comparison: The average tech industry wage is 87% higher than the average state wage – $109,960 vs $58,920
New Jersey
Net Tech Employment: 337,900
Net Employment as a % of Overall Workforce: 7.8%
Tech Occupation Job Postings: 109,230
Leading Tech Occupations:
- Software and Web Developers
- Network Architects, Administrators, and Support Specialists
- Computer System and Information Security Analysts
Leading Tech Industry Sectors:
- IT Services and Custom Software Services
- R&D, Testing, and Engineering Services
- Telecommunications and Internet Services
- Tech Manufacturing
Economic Impact: 9.5% ($52 billion) – Estimated direct contribution of the tech sector to the New Jersey economy
Wage Comparison: The average tech industry wage is 93% higher than the average state wage – $122,830 vs $63,600
Pennsylvania
Net Tech Employment: 425,200
Net Employment as a % of Overall Workforce: 6.7%
Tech Occupation Job Postings: 90,580
Leading Tech Occupations:
- Software and Web Developers
- Network Architects, Administrators, and Support Specialists
- Computer Support Specialists
Leading Tech Industry Sectors:
- IT Services and Custom Software Services
- R&D, Testing, and Engineering Services
- Telecommunications and Internet Services
- Tech Manufacturing
Economic Impact: 7% ($46.7 billion) – Estimated direct contribution of the tech sector to the Pennsylvania economy
Wage Comparison: The average tech industry wage is 85% higher than the average state wage – $98,340 vs $53,300
Summary
In conclusion, it obviously pays to be in IT. Looking at the average tech industry wage as compared to the average state wage makes that fairly obvious (87% higher for the four states in question). It’s also interesting to see that the same tech occupation categories and tech industry sectors are nearly identical for all states within the Philadelphia region. The biggest surprise, however, is in the net employment as a percentage of the overall workforce as compared to the findings in our previous blog post. In that report, Virginia led the way with IT workers representing 3.3% of the total workforce. Each state represented here trumps those numbers with Maryland leading the way at 9.5%. While there could be a discrepancy in the numbers, it’s also believable considering how much of a driving force technology is in today’s workforce – just look at the economic impact the tech sector has on the region (on average 8.7% of total economy). So, if you’ve chosen Information Technology as a career path, you’ve most likely made the correct choice.
