3. Wichita, KS
> Advanced industries, share of employment: 15.5%
> Advanced industries, share of output: 27.4%
> Annual avg. wage: $44,410
> Largest advanced industry: Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing

Most of the areas with high concentrations of advanced jobs have a very diverse array of advanced industry jobs. However, Wichita is exceptional as its economy is almost exclusively dependent on the aerospace product and parts manufacturing sector. The sub-industry had nearly 30,000 employees in the area, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth largest sub-industries classified as advanced each had between just 1,000 and 3,000 employees. Advanced industry jobs in Wichita have grown and continue to contribute substantially to economic output. The industry’s average wage of less than $74,000 in 2013, however, was lower than the national wage figure for advanced industries.

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2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
> Advanced industries, share of employment: 16.0%
> Advanced industries, share of output: 32.6%
> Annual avg. wage: $63,180
> Largest advanced industry: Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing

Like a number of other metro areas with densely concentrated advanced industries, the Seattle region is on the West Coast, a hotbed for what the Brookings Institution calls “regional economic ecosystems.” These areas tend to attract innovative businesses and young, educated Americans, among other boons for local economies. Like the Wichita area, Seattle’s advanced industries are dominated by aerospace product and part manufacturing. However, other firms in advanced industries, such as software publishers and computer systems design companies are also very prominent. Each sub-industry employs tens of thousands of workers in the region. The advanced industries accounted for nearly a third of all economic output in the area, a higher share than in all but a handful of metro areas.

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
> Advanced industries, share of employment: 30.0%
> Advanced industries, share of output: 47.5%
> Annual avg. wage: $101,640
> Largest advanced industry: Computer Systems Design and Related Services

In 2013, 30% of San Jose metro area workers were employed in advanced industry jobs, by far the highest among all large metro areas and more than three times the national share of 8.7%. The region is home to Silicon Valley, a technology sector powerhouse, both in terms of output and wages. The computer systems design and semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing industries were the first and second largest advanced industries in the area. Activity in these industries is driving the considerable labor growth rates in the region. Advanced industry employment grew at an annualized rate of 4.1% between 2010 and 2013, well above the comparable national rate of 2.7%. The area’s total employment grew by 3.6% each year over that period as well, the fourth fastest such rate among large metro areas. Workers were also exceptionally well paid. The average annual wage in 2013 for all area workers and for those employed in advanced industries was $101,640 and $183,950, respectively, both by far the highest nationwide.