New York is the heart of a new digital economy.

Welcome.

New York City’s economy is in the midst of a rapid transformation. The Internet, mobile technologies, social media, and big data have unleashed a wave of innovation that is creating thousands of new startups and is re-inventing New York City’s traditional industries. This study details the size and impact of New York City’s growing tech ecosystem.

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This is the New York City tech ecosystem.

Tech is not a silo that’s separate from the rest of the economy. Rather, tech is infused throughout the city’s diverse economy.

The New York City tech ecosystem is made up of three kinds of jobs, each one enabled by or facilitating technology:

  • TECH JOBS IN TECH INDUSTRIES

    (Example: computer programmer at Google)

  • NON-TECH JOBS IN TECH INDUSTRIES

    (Example: sales rep at Etsy)

  • TECH JOBS IN NON-TECH INDUSTRIES

    (Example: web developer at Citibank)

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The total spending generated by the NYC tech ecosystem is

$125 Billion

With annual tax revenues of $5.6B, or 12.3% of NYC’s total 2013 tax revenue.

The average NYC tech ecosystem hourly wage is $39.50

49%

greater than the NYC median

(AND 44% OF THOSE JOBS DO NOT REQUIRE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE.)

From 2003 to 2013, NYC tech ecosystem employment has grown by 18%

New York City’s economy grew by 12%, while the United States economy grew by just 4%

percentage growth chart: NYC Tech Ecosystem - 18%, NYC Economy - 12%, US Economy 4%

541,000

direct, indirect and induced jobs created by the NYC tech ecosystem

$50.6B

generated in annual compensation

Case Studies

The workforce that comprises NYC’s tech ecosystem is both diverse and expansive.

Read more about our in-depth case studies in the full report >

Featuring case studies on:

Next Steps

Turn data into action. Education. Workforce Development. Infrastructure. Collaboration.

Access the Data

Access the study's full data set here >

About the Study

New York City’s economy is in the midst of a rapid transformation. The Internet, mobile technologies, social media, and big data have unleashed a wave of innovation that is creating thousands of new startups and also re-inventing New York City’s traditional industries as they rush to compete in the 21st century global economy. What was once thought of by policy makers, academics, journalists, economists, and others as New York’s “tech sector” or “Silicon Alley” has now expanded into a complex and yet to be fully understood “tech ecosystem” that is producing hundreds of thousands of new jobs, generating billions in taxes and economic impact, while creating new markets and redirecting New York City’s trajectory into the future.

To better understand the dynamics of these unprecedented changes as well as to help New York’s leaders and its citizens better understand the opportunities and the challenges our city faces, a coalition comprised of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), Citi, Google, and the NY Tech Meetup (NYTM) have joined forces with HR&A Advisors to complete a new detailed analysis to define the components and characteristics of New York City’s “tech ecosystem” as it continues to grow and evolve.

We hope that the findings of this report will help policy makers understand why technologically driven innovation and infrastructure are key to the future success of New York City and all New Yorker's lives.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Althea Erickson of Etsy, Liz Elkiss of General Assembly, Rachel Haot, New York State Deputy Secretary for Technology, Scott Anderson of Control Group, Johnathan Bowles of Center for an Urban Future, Marissa Shorenstein of AT&T, John Cavaliero of Accenture, Jukay Hsu and David Yang of Coalition for Queens, Jeff Volk and Matthew Gould of MLB Advanced Media, Arun Sundarajaran of New York University, Andrea Moore of NYCEDC, Vivian Liao of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and Sean Campion of NYCIBO for their generous support during the various work sessions and meetings leading up to the creation of this report. Thanks also to Rubenstein and Edelman for their assistance handling the release of this report. And thanks to Molly Young and Stephanie Wu of Warby Parker for web design, and Saron Yitbarek and Vinney Cavallo of NY Tech Meetup for web development.

Press Inquiries

Iva Benson, Rubenstein, ibenson@rubenstein.com, 212 843 8271

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