San Jose, California Is Now Richest City In America: How It Got To The Top
San Jose, California Is Now Richest City In America: How It Got To The Top
November 6, 2015
Thanks to changing economic dynamics, there is a shift in the rankings of the richest cities in the U.S. Buoyed by the tech boom, San Jose, California, has now become the richest city in America.
Per data tabulated by Bloomberg, the third largest city in California which is the epicenter of Silicon Valley has become the wealthiest metropolitan area in the country. The publication analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis for 100 of the biggest metropolitan areas.
The analysis revealed that the 2014 gross metropolitan product or the GMP per capita, which is the economic productivity of each resident essentially, in San Jose was $105,482. This figure is twice that of the national average.
By comparison, Bridgeport in Connecticut ranked second and accounted for $94,349. The third spot was claimed by San Francisco in California, which had a GMP of $80,643.
The top 20 list of the richest cities in the U.S. is as follows:
1. San Jose – $105,482
2. Bridgeport – $94,349
3. San Francisco – $80,643
4. Seattle – $75,874
5. Boston – $74,746
6. Durham – $73,523
7. Washington D.C. – $72,191
8. New York – $70,830
9. Houston – $70,097
10. Des Moines – $67,256
11. Dallas – $66,168
12. Portland – $64,991
13. Hartford – $64,946
14. Madison – $63,910
15. Minneapolis – $62,054
16. Denver – $61,903
17. Los Angeles – $60,148
18. Salt Lake City – $59,558
19. Philadelphia – $59,240
20. San Diego – $58,540
The 2014 GMP rankings are reflective of the increase in tech centers post recession. San Jose accounts for an individual generation $11,000 more when compared to a person in Bridgeport which ranks second.
According to Edward Glaeser, a professor at Harvard University, the difference in the state rankings is also reflective of the disparity in the concentration of high-skilled and low-skilled workers in the regions. Glaeser surmises that there is an ”ongoing trend towards skilled places being far more compensated than non-skilled places.” Adding that the ” poster-child of this in the data is the San Jose metropolitan area, which is off the charts in terms of income growth.”
