Tech Jobs Are Booming In New York City [CHART]

Silicon Valley may still be the center of the universe when it comes to all things tech, but the startup scene in New York City continues to grow.

A new report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli shows that the tech industry has continued to offer high-paying job opportunities when other industries have struggled.

Over the past four years, for example, jobs in New York City's high-tech industries have grown by 33%. That's more than four times the rate for the rest of the city's economy (8%).

As you'll see in the chart below, tech companies provided more than 100,000 jobs in New York City during the third quarter of 2013, approaching the record high hit before the dot-com crash of 2000.

Workers in New York City tech jobs also tend to get paid more as a whole. Their average annual salary in 2012 was $118,600, compared to $79,500 in the rest of the city. Tech salaries rose by 13% from 2009 to 2012, compared to a 9% for all other jobs in New York City.

DiNapoli's report includes data on annual wages for some typical high-tech jobs.

And while the focus may be on programming and engineering jobs, there's still plenty of opportunity for those without a set of high-tech skills.

"The growth of the high-tech industry offers employment opportunities for workers with different levels of education, not just those with technical backgrounds, because not every job at a high-tech firm is a high-tech occupation," the report reads. "As is the case in other industries, high-tech firms employ workers with other skills, such as accountants and sales representatives."

The growth of the New York City tech scene has benefited other industries as well. Job growth in advertising and public relations, for example, grew by 25% in the past four years. Media, design, and entertainment companies have all benefited from recent technological advances.

The neighborhoods favored by techies have also expanded. While Silicon Alley has in the past been loosely defined as the Midtown South area (Chelsea, the Flatiron District, SoHo, and Union Square), tech companies have begun setting up offices in clusters scattered around the city.

Lower Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, and Long Island City have all become popular with startups, in part because of the lower rent prices found there.

"These areas are rich in services and amenities important to high-tech businesses and workers (e.g., technology incubators, co-working spaces, public transportation, higher education institutions, more affordable rent and broadband connectivity)," the report said.