Contacts:
Jubi Headley, USCM
(206) 621.5908 or 5909
Liz Galewski, NACo
(202) 942-4220

New Report Documents High Tech Output of U.S. Metro Areas: Mayors, County Leaders Call For Increased Investment, New Policies to Reflect Role of U. S. Metros as Engines of New Economy

Seattle, WA —Today The United States Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties (NACo) jointly unveiled new economic data showing that metro areas are driving the nation's high tech economic boom, with 94% of high-tech output and employment concentrated in metro areas. The data released is included in the report, U. S. Metro Areas: Leaders of the New Economy.

In releasing the data, Conference of Mayors President and Denver Mayor Wellington Webb said, "What this data suggests very clearly is that public and private investment aimed at promoting national economic federal policy and corporate investment strategies ought to be focused on America's cities and counties. In the face of this compelling data, we can no longer view ourselves economically as a nation of states, in many cases with outdated and economically irrelevant boundaries, but as a nation of metro economic centers that outpace many national economies of the world."

The report, prepared by Standard & Poor's DRI, also shows that:

• More than 70% of the nation's high-tech employment is located in fifty metro areas.
• Twenty U. S. metro areas account for 50% of the nation's high-tech output.
• The top ten high-tech metro areas, taken together, exceed the combined output of the 39 smallest states.

National Association of Counties President C. Vernon Gray praised the report for having a significant impact on how the technology industry is viewed in urban counties. "With more than three-quarters of the nation's high-tech employment located in 50 metropolitan areas, the high-tech industry has proven that it has a significant impact on metropolitan economies," Gray said. "This is confirmation that America's urban counties are at the forefront of the New Economy."

The report further documents the spread of high-tech business across America. For example, San Jose, the center of the computer hardware industry and a high-tech stronghold throughout the 1980's, is a powerhouse in the high-tech sector. However, the Silicon Valley metro area now ranks second to Boston in high-tech output, and fifth in share of U. S. high-tech employment-behind Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The report, released during the 68th Annual Meeting of the Conference of Mayors, and accompanying charts will be available online at usmayors.org.