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State of the Valley 2025
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| From wealth to well-being — balancing prosperity with growing inequality |
A capacity audience filled the ballroom at San José State University’s Diaz Compean Student Union for dialogue and discussion surrounding Silicon Valley’s most pressing trends and challenges.
Leaders from the corporate, government, education, and nonprofit sectors engaged with the region’s latest data, released in the 2025 Silicon Valley Index. Eye-opening statistics revealed stark contrasts: While investment in Silicon Valley’s innovation engine continues to surge, wealth disparities and an affordable housing crisis are rapidly intensifying.
Rachel Massaro, Research Director at Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, offered an insider’s perspective on the Index, stressing that its true value lies in viewing the data holistically, connecting the dots across the various charts and indicators.
Watch Rachel Massaro's presentation
Joint Venture CEO Russell Hancock provided a comprehensive briefing on the Index in two sessions, People & Economy and Community, and the morning concluded with a challenging, thought-provoking keynote by David Brooks, sparking intense reflection while fueling hope for a more inclusive, prosperous future.
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Index Briefing Part One: People & Economy
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| Firing on all cylinders, despite turbulence |
Flashing the number "1.7 million" in large font on the screen, Joint Venture president Russell Hancock described a Valley economy that is "neither growing nor shrinking but holding steady." He explained that 1.7 million is the number of people who were in the workforce when the pandemic set in, and it is the same number the Valley has reported for the past three calendar years. "Holding steady is actually an achievement when you consider that we've absorbed 66,000 tech layoffs since 2022," Hancock continued, "without any corresponding uptick in the unemployment rate."
Hancock told the audience that the number speaks to an innovation engine that continues firing on all of its cylinders, despite turbulence in the broader scene and acres of empty office space. Hancock reported venture capital numbers ($69 billion) that doubled the previous year, record-shattering patent generation, significant employment gains among start-ups (+9.3 percent), the world's fattest trove of unicorns and decacorns, and — by every objective measure — the most intensity around artificial intelligence (AI).
"Is there hype and excess here around AI?" Hancock asked, bringing Threshold managing partner Emily Melton to the stage. "It's more profound and the implications are bigger than we think," she rejoined. "The innovation cycles are going to happen much faster, and the adoption rate is going to be more deeply penetrating."
Hancock was also joined by Newmark partner Joe Kelly who fielded questions about commercial real estate and the possibility for converting unused units into housing.
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| Watch part one of the Index briefing |
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Index Briefing Part Two: Community
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| Facing the crisis — housing costs, wage stagnation, and disparities |
Hancock took the stage a second time, likened the Valley's economy to a prodigiously buzzing beehive, and asked, "But how are the bees doing?" He then reviewed a range of indicators charting modest gains in general health and well-being. He also showed record-breaking per capita income figures that clock in at twice the national average, but contrasted them with the nation's highest income and wealth gaps. "In Silicon Valley, 37 percent of our children are in households living below self-sufficiency," he observed, while projecting charts showing wage stagnation for all but the highest earners.
Hancock next reported the nation's highest housing costs, that the region collectively approved fewer than 4,900 new housing units (half as many approved in 2023), a rise in the number of unhoused, and persistent income and educational disparities by race. He also showed the effect of inflation on the Valley's residents, and swelling costs of childcare and transportation.
Hancock was joined on stage by San José Housing Director Erik Solivan who lamented the rising per-unit cost of new construction in the region, and JobTrain CEO Barrie Hathaway. "Are these systemic problems needing systemic fixes?" queried Hancock. "If you are very low-income you are facing a maze of barriers and it isn't just about getting trained, and it isn't just about getting educated," said Hathaway.
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| Watch part two of the Index briefing |
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David Brooks: Healing a Divided Nation (Keynote)
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| How meritocracy and division shaped the current moment |
With empathy and insight, keynote speaker David Brooks (The New York Times, PBS News Hour) addressed the divisions shaping U.S. politics, stressing that while the nation leads as a technological superpower, the same divisions that plague Silicon Valley also affect the broader society. Brooks attributed these divisions to a caste system rooted in educational meritocracy, leading to vast social chasms, economic inequality, and individualistic moralities.
Brooks argued that these forces contributed to Donald Trump’s 2016 election, a moment that was decades in the making. He emphasized that healing is possible but requires deep reflection on the pain that brought the nation here. Citing historical precedents such as Andrew Jackson and 1890s populism, Brooks outlined a pattern for change, starting with human connection, followed by cultural shifts, and culminating in civic and political transformation. True healing, Brooks concluded, will depend on Americans learning to see others across differences, making them feel seen, heard, respected, and understood.
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| Watch David Brooks |
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Thank You to our Sponsors!
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Lead Sponsor:
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Principal Sponsor:
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| The 2025 State of the Valley conference is made possible by generous support from Meta as the lead sponsor and El Camino Health as principal sponsor, with additional support from Accenture, Amazon, Bank of America, PG&E, The Sobrato Organization, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health, and these other sponsors. |
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