Data indicates that the tech community’s shift north is faster than anticipated
For anyone living in the Bay Area, the upward shift of the tech community and Silicon Valley into San Francisco shouldn’t be a surprise. Witness the city’s churning about commuter buses, the increasing income divide, gentrification around mid-Market, Hacks for the Homeless, worsening traffic, and soaring real estate prices. These trends will continue and at a quick pace. This isn’t new news. What is surprising, though, is the data in the recently released report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley about how quickly certain changes are happening. The 2015 Silicon Valley Index report covers everything from employment and education to transportation and housing. It’s a great read if you’re interested in well-researched Silicon Valley data. This year, the report highlights particularly striking stats about San Francisco, indicating rapid and significant shifts:
- “Employment levels in San Francisco have grown more quickly than in Silicon Valley, up 13.1% since 2007 and 15.3% since the low in 2010 (compared to 7.3% and 14.4% job growth in Silicon Valley, respectively).
- San Francisco had several very large venture capital deals in Q1-3 2014, including Uber’s $1.2 billion deal and three others over $200 million (Dropbox, Lyft and AirBnB). During that same period, Silicon Valley had only two deals over $200 million (Pure Storage and Tangome).
- San Francisco companies received nearly the same amount of venture capital investment as all of the Silicon Valley’s companies combined, with a total of $7.2 billion (compares to $7.3 billion in Silicon Valley) in Q1-3 2014.
- San Francisco received 36% of California venture capital investments in Q1-3 2014 – a share that has increased exponentially from 4.1% in 2007.”
The report also highlights that “San Francisco has a young, well-educated workforce that is taking advantage of rapid job growth, with 47% of the population between 18 and 44 and 53% with a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared to 38% and 47% in Silicon Valley, respectively).”
Does this data indicate an end to the Silicon Valley? Of course not. From the talent pool to the VC funding to the vibrant ecosystem, Silicon Valley is booming. In fact, the report opens by explaining that the Valley is poised to “blow through all the employment, venture capital and patent records that were set during the crazy dot-com period, only this time we haven’t spiked into it.” (The report’s data about transportation, affordable housing and income disparities is not as positive.) Still, the Valley’s shift north is happening quicker than many anticipated and it is not yet clear what the long-term consequences will be.
Find the complete report here.
