County officials and business leaders have often called Loudoun the “Silicon Valley of the East.” Now, there’s more proof to back up part of their claim.
The TechAmerica Foundation listed Washington, D.C., second on the list of Cybercities 2010: The Definitive Analysis of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation on Dec. 7.
The report examined high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll and employment concentration in 60 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
The Washington, D.C., area, which the foundation defines as the District of Columbia and the surrounding counties from its three bordering states, employed 293,000 tech industry workers in 2009.
In Loudoun, 15,227 workers were employed within the professional and technical services industry in the first quarter of 2010, the most current information available. The sector is the second largest in the county, trailing only the retail sector. Additionally, six of Loudoun’s top ten employers hire high-tech workers. They include Aol, M.C. Dean Inc., and Orbital Sciences Corp., among others. The 2009 median household income in Loudoun is $114,204, more than double the national median of $50,221, according to the Department of Economic Development’s annual demographic and economic trends report.
The New York City metropolitan area, which comprises counties in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, takes the top spot with 317,000 high-tech industry workers. San Jose, or Silicon Valley, “the heart of the tech industry,” as the report calls it, trails Washington, D.C. in high-tech industry workers. The report did not denote how many workers in the region were employed at high-tech industries.
The foundation’s 13th annual report also included a state-by-state breakdown of the most populous high-tech areas from 2008, the most current information available at the state level. They include: California (993,300), Texas (492,400), New York (312,300), Florida (292,300) and Virginia (283,400).
“Virginia led the nation in concentration of high-tech workers in 2008, with 95 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector workers,” the report stated.
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I think it’s funny that, for this statistic, Loudoun is included (in fact, Loudoun is the primary area the statistic is based on). In most other statistical studies, Loudoun County is not included as part of the DC Metro Area…
Alby,
An average person can afford a house in Ashburn if done wisely. One does not start out of college buying a half-million dollar house. They work their way up to it—with equity and saving. Only idiots are under water or have virtually no equity in their house if they are making the median salary in Ashburn. They have no business being in a house.
You joke about the $125k townhouse, but that’s exactly how you do it. Get a cheap townhouse, pay it off in a couple of years, save hard for 8 years and bing, you are in a nice place with virtually no mortgage. I went from a $130k townhouse to a $630k house in 10 years and haven’t had a mortgage in 7 years.
Loudoun Techie - Must be nice to live on 1 Income and have a Stay @ Home Wife. Considering the cost of housing in Loudoun, the “average” person needs to earn about $100,000/yr.
Of course, one could always live in Sterling Park. Get a $125,000 Townhouse. Only need a $40,000/yr job. Nevermind the Prostitution Massage Parlors, MS-13 Gangs, driveby shootings, etc… Yeah, sign me up for that one. lol
Alby.
While there are people living in those situations, not everyone is fiscally irresponsible. I live at close to median income with 3 kids who go to private school and a stay at home wife. I own my home in Ashburn, have no car payments and am able to bank 60% of my salary at 39 years old. All of which was done on salary and simple investments alone.
Thankfully, my parents taught me well and why it was necessary to live well beneath your means. It saddens me seeing kids running around with iphones or whatever else they want as they will be destined to fall in the trap you outlined.
Trollio,
I know very few techs from India. I do know quite a lot facilitating tech outsourcing back to India however.
Running the numbers, Loudoun’s Tech Workforce only makes up 5.19% of the 293,000 tech workers in the region.
As for the Media Income, $114,000/yr will net you $82,000 after taxes. The Average Home Price is $365,000. So of that $82,000 in real income, $30,000 will be for Mortgage Payments + Taxes/Insurance per year. Now you’ve got $52,000 to spend. Lets say you’ve got 2 Car Payments on $30,000 vehicles. There goes another $14,000/yr, leaving you $38,000. Groceries will around $800/mo or $10,000/yr, depleting your wealth to $28,000. If you have kids (lets assume 2 children) and they have to both attend daycare so Hubby/Wife can work, there goes $24,000/yr. $4,000 left over.
Oh wait, gasoline for those vehicles will run about $400/mo or $4800/yr. Now you’re living on credit and in the red.
So how about that Loudoun Wealth? Vaporized in minutes. Being poor might actually be better than making money.
Whom smell and have no since of humer. Loudoun is not DC, so please stop saying it is. We are far better than that
That explains the massive influx of Indians.
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