New data from Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies
September 30, 2015 – The median household income in Silicon Valley rose to $98,500 from 2013 to 2014, while San Francisco spiked nearly seven percent over the same period to $85,070, Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies reported today.
An Institute analysis of new United States Census data shows that income gains in Silicon Valley have now outpaced inflation for three straight years, while the poverty rate has dropped to its lowest level since 2008, reaching 8.1 percent in 2014.
In San Francisco, meanwhile, the uptick in income included 25.6 percent of households earning $150,000 or more last year and contributed to a drop of more than two percent in the share of households earning less than $35,000 annually.
“This latest data demonstrates that economic prosperity in Silicon Valley and the greater Bay Area shows no signs of slowing down,” said Rachel Massaro, Joint Venture vice president and senior research associate for the Institute.
In comparison over the same period, she noted, California and the United States as a whole show modest gains in median household income, rising 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, after adjusting for inflation.
Other findings in the new data include:
- The poverty rate in Silicon Valley reached 8.1% in 2014 (down 1.6 percentage points since 2013, and 2 points below the peak in 2012). Declines in poverty rates were also observed in California and the nation as a whole, although they were more pronounced in Silicon Valley (and in San Francisco, which saw a poverty rate decline of 1.7 percentage points to 12% in 2014).
- The share of the population ages 18-64 with health insurance increased significantly in Silicon Valley (up 4.9 percentage points to 90% of the population covered), San Francisco (up 2.7 percentage points to 91%), California (up 6.7 points to 83%), and the nation (up 4 points to 84%) between 2013 and 2014.
- The share of households earning less than $35,000 annually has decreased in San Francisco significantly over a 2-year period, dropping from 28% in 2012 to 24% in 2014 (compared to 19% and 17% in Silicon Valley, respectively).
- Over the same period, the share of households earning more than $150,000 annually has increased by one and a half percentage points in San Francisco and nearly 4 percentage points in Silicon Valley (compared to approximately one percentage point increases in California and the United States between 2012 and 2014).
About the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies
The Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies provides research and analysis on a host of issues facing Silicon Valley’s economy and society. The Institute is housed within Joint Venture Silicon Valley. For more information, visit www.siliconvalleyindicators.org.
