The Bureau of Labor Statistics says Utah workers in the tech industry make double and sometimes triple the state average salary. Photo: Getty Images
PROVO — Utahns who have a job in the tech industry make much more money than the rest of us, according to new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The BLS reports the average technology sector income in metro areas is nearly double – and sometimes triple – the average state salary in Utah.
“When you look at the average income of the state of $47,000, tech employees are making 83 percent more than the average state salary, which is crazy,” said Shea Drake with Business.org.
Drake says the Provo metro area is third in the nation for tech salary growth, too. That metro area includes Lehi and the growing “Silicon Slopes” area of the Wasatch Front.
Nationwide, the BLS says tech salaries average about 66% percent higher than other fields. San Jose, California, boasts the nation’s highest technology salaries with an average of around $117,000. The lowest pay was in Dayton Beach, Florida, with an average of $63,000.
The “tech” category is a pretty broad career field, Drake said.
“Everything from mathematical science, research science, computer programmer, data scientist and statisticians,” Drake said. It also includes Information Technology, software, systems analysis and web developers.
The average tech salary, according to the BLS, is $87,314 in the state of Utah, an eight percent increase from last year.