[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]by Niall McCarthy,
STEM jobs (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are one of the driving forces behind the American economy. Often associated with computing, coding and Silicon Valley, STEM is vital for everything from manufacturing to food processing and healthcare. It is also crucial to maintaining a stable and growing economy. Given how important STEM is to guaranteeing future prosperity, it comes as little surprise that many of the country’s best-paying and most secure jobs are in the field. Website 24/7 Wall Street recently carried out an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find out the cities with the highest rates of STEM employment.
California-Lexington Park in Maryland is the city with the highest share of hi-tech jobs in the country with 24.8 percent of its entire workforce falling into the category of STEM. It also has the highest median STEM wage in the U.S. with $102,826. The reason for its high STEM share is its proximity to the capital and a major concentration of defense contractors such as BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin who need highly-skilled workers. Unsurprisingly, the San Jose area in California (including Silicon Valley) is high up on the list, ranking second. 20 percent of workers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro region are employed in STEM occupations. The top-three is jointly rounded off by Huntsville, Alabama and Boulder, Colorado, with both metro areas boasting a 20.7% share of hi-tech employment.
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