2024 Silicon Valley Index

The Joint Venture Silicon Valley Index has been providing insights on our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for over 25 years. It provides an honest and holistic view of life in Silicon Valley. You can download the 2024 Silicon Valley Index over here.

Have a quick look at the comparison between Silicon Valley and San Francisco in the image below. Here are some of my notes from the key findings:

• We're growing again with 11,300 new Silicon Valley residents last year.
• VC dollars going into AI have risen 220% year-over-year. Generative AI represented 44% of all 2023 VC investments in AI companies.
• Silicon Valley just had four IPOs last year. San Francisco had one.
• We're still generating more patents by far than any other place in the nation. San Jose is the top city in the nation yet again for patent filing.
• Silicon Valley's 20 largest tech companies were 7% smaller at the end of 2023 than than the previous year, but employment in tech still ended up being 37,000 employees more than pre-pandemic figures. Tech is now 28% of the workforce.
•  If wealth was evenly distributed in Silicon Valley, it would amount to $2 million per household.
• Silicon Valley's population continues to age, with those over 65 years old up by 32% since 2012 and the number of children down by 13% over the same period.
• The number of births each year in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties has declined steadily since the 1990s, dropping by 33% over 33 years.
• 51% of Silicon Valley speaks a language other than English at home
• The two largest office projects in Silicon Valley last year were both in Downtown San Jose, 200 Park (965,342 SQFT) and Adobe's 4th Tower (700,000 SQFT). The 3rd largest was a 350,000 SQFT building in South San Francisco.
• Silicon Valley childcare costs have quadrupled over the past 20 years, rising twice as fast as regional inflation.
• There were no unhealthy air days in the past three years, showing an improvement in air quality.
• Total solar capacity increased sixfold over the past decade, from 174 MW in 2013 to 983 MW in 2023. Batter storage grew twentyfold in the past 5 years.
• Gasoline and Diesel sales have steadily declined and are still 19% below pre-pandemic levels (presumably due to EV sales)
• 17% of all Californian EV charging outlets are in Silicon Valley, over 5,000 in Santa Clara County alone.
• Life expectancy is several years higher in Silicon Valley versus California or the United States.

2023 Silicon Valley Index

The Joint Venture Silicon Valley Index has been providing insights on our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for over 25 years. It provides an honest and holistic view of life in Silicon Valley.

You can download the 2023 Silicon Valley Index over here.

Below are some of the key findings:

• The region continued battling surges, but the COVID death rate per capita declined in 2022.
• COVID-19 dropped to Silicon Valley’s sixth leading cause of death in 2022, down from third in 2021.
• The region recovered from pandemic job losses by April 2022. Unemployment hit an historic low. Tech is becoming more highly concentrated.
• Silicon Valley added 88,000 jobs between mid-2021 and mid-2022, a growth rate of 5.4%. An estimated 22,000 jobs were added in the second half of the year. The 30 largest firms account for 42 % of tech employment (19 % are at Google, Apple, and Meta alone).
• The rise and fall of the stock market drove large shifts in venture funding and IPOs.
• Pandemic-period stock market gains of nearly $9 trillion proved transitory as the market tumbled in 2022. Half of all venture capital flowing to Silicon Valley or San Francisco companies was in the form of megadeals ($24.7 billion spread across 116 megadeals).
• Demand for commercial space is tempered by remote work, but specialized R&D space is hot.
• Though remote work is shifting the dynamic, leasing activity remained strong throughout 2022. While there was a 45% increase in the number of lease agreements, the average amount of space per lease has sharply declined.
• Remote work is increasing, creating extra capacity on roadways and decimating public transit.
• The share of remote workers grew to 35% in 2022, up from 28% in 2021. Private commuter shuttles are being put out of service. Caltrain ridership fell to 4,100 daily riders, down from 67,000 (-92%). BART recovered 35% of its pre-pandemic riders.
• Silicon Valley’s population is declining; the share of young people is also falling.
• Silicon Valley’s population declined by 38,900 residents between mid-2020 and mid-2021, the highest figure ever recorded. The decline was due to a 74% rise in domestic outmigration, a reversal of the net flow of foreign immigrants (-103 %), declining birth rates, and rising death rates.
• The pandemic and patterns of outmigration haven’t affected soaring home prices
• Silicon Valley’s high home prices rose 7% in 2022, reaching a record-breaking median price of $1.53 million. The share of first-time homebuyers who can afford a median priced home fell to 27% and is as low as 14% for the region’s Black or African Americans and Hispanic or Latino residents.
• Inflation outpaced income gains; assistance programs scale upwards
• Increases in the regional Consumer Price Index since 2019 outpaced household income gains, resulting in a $550 decline in median household income in 2021. Childcare costs rose twice as quickly as the regional inflation rate since 2010 (+85%). Average wages vary significantly across racial and ethnic groups, with the largest disparity between Hispanic or Latino and White, not Hispanic or Latino residents.
• Silicon Valley has the nation’s largest gaps, and they are increasing.
• For the first time ever, ultra-high net worth households are included in regional wealth data. Through this lens, inequality is even more stark, with the top 0.001% of Silicon Valley’s households holding more wealth than the nearly 500,000 households in the bottom 50%.
• In 2022 the top 10 % of Silicon Valley households hold 66% of the wealth; eight Silicon Valley households residents hold more wealth than that of the bottom 50% combined (nearly half a million households).
• While income inequality was lessening in the state and nation (down 1 and 3%) it rose in Silicon Valley by 5% in 2021.
• 28% of Silicon Valley households are below income-adequacy; those households include 42% of the region’s children. 42% of children in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties live in households that are not self-sufficient; the most influential factor for these households is the cost of childcare.
• Income adequacy varies significantly by race and ethnicity. Among those most likely to live below Self-Sufficiency Standards are Hispanic or Latino non-citizens and those with limited English.

Silicon Valley Annual Check-up

In the video below Joint Venture CEO Russel Hancock summarizes the key learnings from the 2021 Silicon Valley Index. This year, special attention was paid to the impacts of the Coronavirus on our local economy. Other topics include income inequality, racial demographics, housing imbalances, patent registrations, and venture capital funding. The presentation provides an objective look at how our region is doing compared to previous years as well as the rest of the country.

If you find the content interesting, you can also read the whole 150-page study over here.

2020 Silicon Valley Index

The Joint Venture Silicon Valley Index has been providing insights on our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for over 20 years. It provides an honest and holistic view of life in Silicon Valley, with the obvious exception that it was published before COVID-19. It's worth reading for a reminder of where we were at the start of 2020. We can use today's events as a chance to reflect on what we can do differently when we hopefully return to normalcy sometime later this year.

You can download the 2020 Silicon Valley Index over here.

Below are a few items that stood out for me:

• We have had nine continuous years of expansion since the last recession, adding 821,000 jobs in the Bay Area.
• Over that same time period, we only permitted 173,000 new homes and have 100,000 megacommuters [Josh: hopefully the option to work remotely continues for many post-COVID].
• Labor productivity reached a record $241,000 per worker, a 53% increase from 2001.
• Unemployment hit 2.1%, a 19-year low.
• More people are leaving the region than coming in.
• Home prices declined 6% in 2019, yet median home sale prices are still the highest in the country (over $1 million).
• Income inequality hit a historic high with 13% of households holding 75% of the region's wealth.
• Internet speeds are slow compared to SF, California, and the country as a whole [Josh: this is shocking for living in the middle of Silicon Valley].
• Individual median income is $117,000 and 82% of the population is above 150% of the poverty level.
• Silicon Valley's ethnic breakdown is 35% Asian, 33% White, 25% Hispanic/Latino, 5% Multiple/Other, and 2% Black/African American.
• 24% of Silicon Valley residents have Graduate or Professional Degrees.
• 51% of families speak a language other than English at home (vs. 41% for SF, 45% for California, and 22% for the US).
• The Bay Area has by far the largest number of tech jobs and greatest % of people employed in tech out of any region in the US.
• 9% of Silicon Valley Residents lack access to adequate food and nutrition
• San Jose generates more patents than any other city in California (11% of all CA patents in fact).
• In 2019, traffic delays cost as much as $3.4 billion in lost productivity for Silicon Valley workers.

Joint Venture 2015 Silicon Valley Index

Every year Join Venture puts out a Silicon Valley Index that discusses a variety of topics from the economy to governance and challenges that our region faces. There are always tons of interesting stats in these publications.

Lynn Peithman Stock from the SVBJ has a nice breakdown of how some Silicon Valley stats compare to San Francisco over the last year:

Silicon Valley new jobs: 57,591 (11k up from the previous year)
San Francisco new jobs: 18,499 (4k down from the previous year)

Silicon Valley new patents: 17,000
San Francisco new patents: 1,900

Silicon Valley IPOs: 23
San Francisco IPOs: 5

Silicon Valley startups: 8,600
San Francisco startups: 7,400

Click here to read the entire report (or scroll down for highlights). You can also watch the video briefing below.

Highlights of the 2015 Index include:

Jobs – The number of new jobs grew by 4.1 percent, bringing the region’s job total to nearly 1.5 million. Silicon Valley added 57,951 new jobs between Q2 2013 and Q2 2014; San Francisco added another 18,499 for a total of 76,450 in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

Investment– Venture capital investments in Silicon Valley and San Francisco shot up, reaching $14.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2014 alone – more than in any other year since 2000. San Francisco’s share was $7.1 billion, a 68 percent spike over 2013. Cleantech venture capital investments increased dramatically as well in 2014, reaching an all-time high of nearly $3.3 billion.

IPOs/M&A – 23 of the 275 U.S. Initial Public Offerings in 2014 were by Silicon Valley companies, three more than the prior year. As of Q3 2014, Silicon Valley was on pace to reach 2013 merger and acquisition activity levels, while San Francisco exceeded the number of deals in 2013 in the first three quarters of 2014 alone. During that time period, there were 560 M&A deals involving Silicon Valley companies, and 403 involving San Francisco companies.

Innovation – The number of Silicon Valley patent registrations continued to rise, reaching 16,975 in 2013 (1,910 more than the previous year). The largest share (40 percent) of the patents was in Computers, Data Processing and Information Storage, with another 24 percent in Communications.

Population – The entire Silicon Valley region (including Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, Fremont, Union City, Newark and Scotts Valley) grew by nearly 42,000 people between January 2013 and January 2014. During that period of time, Santa Clara County was the fastest growing county in the state at 1.5 percent – nearly twice the growth rate of the state as a whole (0.9 percent) – and a few Silicon Valley cities (Campbell, Milpitas, Foster City and Morgan Hill) grew three to four times faster than the state.

Income – Average annual earnings (including wages and supplements) in Silicon Valley and San Francisco as of Q2 2014 were $116,033 and $104,881, respectively, compared to $96,663 in the nine-County Bay Area, $70,847 in California and $61,489 in the United States. Median household income in 2013 in Silicon Valley was $94,534 and $79,778 in San Francisco.

Housing – Home prices and rental rates continued to rise in 2014, with a median home sale price of $757,585 (7.5 percent higher than 2013 and more than $360,000 higher than the median price throughout the state) and an average rental rate of $2,333 per month (11 percent higher than 2013) in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Commercial space – The amount of approved development hit skyscraper levels in FY 2013-14 to 12.9 million square feet – nearly twice the floor area of the Pentagon, the largest U.S. office building. This amount of net non-residential development is far more than any other year over the last decade, and is 2.6 million square feet more than the last peak in 2004.

Published annually since 1995, the Silicon Valley Index findings are reported in five major sections: People (talent flows and diversity); Economy (employment, innovation and entrepreneurship, commercial space, income); Society (preparing for economic success, early education, arts and culture, quality of health, safety); Place (environment, transportation, land use, housing); and Governance (city finances and civic engagement).

The 2015 Silicon Valley Index is accessible online at www.siliconvalleyindicators.organd may be downloaded from the Joint Venture website at www.jointventure.org.

About Joint Venture Silicon Valley

Established in 1993, Joint Venture provides analysis and action on issues affecting the Silicon Valley economy and quality of life. The organization brings together established and emerging leaders—from business, government, academia, labor and the broader community—to spotlight issues, launch projects and work toward innovative solutions. For more information, visit www.jointventure.org.

Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley 2014

The 2014 Silicon Valley Index brings with it some interesting statistics related to our region. Here are a few quick stats from this year's report:

• Silicon Valley has added 46,665 new jobs (22,842 jobs were added in San Francisco). 
• The region's total population grew by 1.31% (13,766 people) versus 0.88% average growth statewide.
• Silicon Valley has 46.5% of all IPOs, 46.9% of Patents, and 47.6% of Venture Capital, and 54.6% of Angel Investment in California.
• Consumption of electricity has declined for five years in a row (189 megawatts of solar capacity helps quite a bit here).
• 45% of households are making over $100,000 a year.
• 75% of commuters are solo drivers, not a dramatic difference from 78% in 2003.
• Caltrain ridership has increased 26.4% from 2010 to 2013.
• For the first time since 2008, Silicon Valley government achieved greater revenues than expenses.

Click here to read the entire report. You can also watch a video briefing below.

Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley 2013

The 2013 Silicon Valley Index has arrived and always brings with it some interesting statistics related to our region. Here are a few of my favorite bits from the report:

• Silicon valley is adding jobs faster than it has in more than a decade and in a faster rate than the rest of California and the Nation. In the last year, Silicon Valley has gained 42,360 jobs.
• Regional unemployment is down to 7%, and has also declined across all ethnicity groups.
• In 2011, 64% of Silicon Valley professionals with higher education working in science/engineering fields were born outside the US (the national average is 26%).
• Transit ridership increased by 1.3% in 2012.
• Average housing rents hit a historic high of $1,966.
• Foreclosures declined 41% between the first half of 2011 and the first half of 2012.
• Silicon Valley reached a five-year high of 17 IPOs in 2012, representing 52% of all statewide IPOs and 15% of all national IPOs.
• 48% of all patents in the state and 12.5% of all patents in the country come from Silicon Valley.
• The percentage of kids enrolled in preschool hit 46% in Silicon Valley, compared to 37% in California and 40% for the United States as a whole.
• Since 1998, Silicon Valley's daily per capita waste disposal has fallen by 42% greatly outpacing the nation and state. Per capita energy consumption has also dropped by 2.5%.
• Overall solar installations have increased 14% in 2012 over 2011.
• 82% of all new housing units approved in 2012 were within 1/3 mile of a major transit station.

Click here to read the entire report..

Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley 2012

It turns out I never posted stats from the 2012 Joint Venture report evaluating the current status of our region. Here are a few of my favorite bits from the report:

• 42,000 jobs were added in the past year (2011)
• Silicon Valley employment increased 3.8% in 2011, versus 1.1% nationwide
• All major areas of economic activity experienced growth from 2010-2011, except for the "Other Manufacturing" category which includes space and defense manufacturing
• Patent registrations increased by 30%. Silicon Valley accounts for 49% of statewide patents and 12% of all patents in the country
• Venture investment in cleantech doubled over the previous year. Silicon Valley has 34% of the total California investment in cleantech
• 46% of 2011 IPOs were from Silicon Valley
• Half of the SV population speaks a language other than English at home.
• Between 2010 and 2011, Silicon Valley population increased by 1% (it was 0.7% for California)
• High school graduation rates increased by 1% to 88% (versus 81% in California)
• 43% of all Silicon Valley households now have household income over $100k (compared to 26% in California and 20% in the US)
• The regions solar capacity increased by 41% from 2010 to 2011 (versus 21% statewide)
• Transit ridership per capita increased 4.9% in 2011

Click here to read the entire report (Warning: PDF link).

Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley 2010

The latest Joint Venture report evaluating the current status of our region has been unleashed. Thankfully it's not all doom and gloom. Here are a few of my favorite statistics:

• 30% of ALL Venture Capital invested in the US, is invested in Silicon Valley (Pop: 2,900,000, less than 1% of the US population). 
• The proportion of VC funds we're receiving in relation to the rest of the country actually increased in 2009 (so we're getting an even larger piece of the funding pie).
• 12% of ALL US patents originated in Silicon Valley.
• In 2008 more patents were filed in San Jose than any other city in the US (and by a wide margin).
• 3% of vehicles registered in Silicon Valley are hybrids or electric (as opposed to 2% in the rest of California)

Click here to read the entire report (Warning: PDF link).