August 1, 2011 at 17:00Salaries and Cost of Living in Silicon Valley
America with mixed feelings looks at the island of prosperity in the sea of recession - Silicon Valley. There are multibillion-dollar investment flows, startups appear like mushrooms after the rain, and many successfully enter the stock exchange. In January-March 2011 alone, $ 7.5 billion of investments were pumped into Silicon Valley startups (738 deals, of which 46% were round A deals, that is, primary investments to create jobs).
Some people think that this cannot happen against the backdrop of a general recession. Another collapse of the dotcoms should happen . Others pick up a calculator and calculate whether it makes sense to move to work in Silicon Valley, what salaries are in IT companies, what taxes are in California, and how much does it cost to rent an apartment.
Altogether, 48,000 people work in the Internet companies of the Valley. Unlike the rest of the United States , in Silicon Valley, the unemployment rate has been declining in recent years: from 11% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2011. That is, finding a job there is much easier than in other regions, especially when you consider the huge number of startups that recruit staff from scratch.
Let's start with salaries. Median annual salary for specialists in various professions:
For clarity, we recalculate this into a monthly salary, as is customary with us.
With a median annual salary of a software developer of $ 90,000, the most skilled of them get much more. Here is the annual salary of leading programmers at major IT companies.
Google : $ 180,000
LinkedIn : $ 155,000
PayPal : $ 152,000
Facebook : $ 150,000
Apple : $ 140,000
Twitter : $ 125,000
With all these high salaries, remember that the cost of living in the Valley is 61.5% higher than the national average . In other words, the average salary of an IT professional in Silicon Valley is $ 92,299 a year.corresponds to the standard of living, which provides a much lower salary in cheaper regions: only $ 59 514 in neighboring San Diego, $ 74 808 in expensive New York, or $ 43-46 thousand in Dallas or Philadelphia. And this is not to mention a remote place like Tennessee ($ 38,007).
In addition, California has to pay a 9.3% income tax on salaries, while in many other states there is no such tax. For example, with the above average salary, an IT specialist for five years will pay the government "extra" money $ 42,919, compared with a colleague from some Florida.
The cost of real estate is generally a separate conversation. In California, it is 2.91 times (!) Higher than the US average. The cost of renting an apartment costs an average of $ 2241 per month , which is 71% more than the national average.
Focus business experts have posted great infographics that summarize all this information.
Some people think that this cannot happen against the backdrop of a general recession. Another collapse of the dotcoms should happen . Others pick up a calculator and calculate whether it makes sense to move to work in Silicon Valley, what salaries are in IT companies, what taxes are in California, and how much does it cost to rent an apartment.
Altogether, 48,000 people work in the Internet companies of the Valley. Unlike the rest of the United States , in Silicon Valley, the unemployment rate has been declining in recent years: from 11% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2011. That is, finding a job there is much easier than in other regions, especially when you consider the huge number of startups that recruit staff from scratch.
Let's start with salaries. Median annual salary for specialists in various professions:
| Profession | S / p median in the USA | S / n median in Silicon Valley |
| Software developer | $ 72,000 | $ 90,000 |
| Java / web developer | $ 61,407 | $ 97,149 |
| Product Manager | $ 92,000 | $ 105,000 |
| Project manager | $ 83,400 | $ 92,000 |
| Graphic Designer | $ 47,860 | $ 56,887 |
| Marketing Manager | $ 77,000 | $ 102,000 |
| Profession | S / p median in the USA | S / n median in Silicon Valley |
| Software developer | $ 6,000 | $ 7500 |
| Java / web developer | $ 5117 | $ 8096 |
| Product Manager | $ 7667 | $ 8750 |
| Project manager | $ 6950 | $ 7667 |
| Graphic Designer | $ 3988 | $ 4741 |
| Marketing Manager | $ 6417 | $ 8500 |
Google : $ 180,000
LinkedIn : $ 155,000
PayPal : $ 152,000
Facebook : $ 150,000
Apple : $ 140,000
Twitter : $ 125,000
With all these high salaries, remember that the cost of living in the Valley is 61.5% higher than the national average . In other words, the average salary of an IT professional in Silicon Valley is $ 92,299 a year.corresponds to the standard of living, which provides a much lower salary in cheaper regions: only $ 59 514 in neighboring San Diego, $ 74 808 in expensive New York, or $ 43-46 thousand in Dallas or Philadelphia. And this is not to mention a remote place like Tennessee ($ 38,007).
In addition, California has to pay a 9.3% income tax on salaries, while in many other states there is no such tax. For example, with the above average salary, an IT specialist for five years will pay the government "extra" money $ 42,919, compared with a colleague from some Florida.
The cost of real estate is generally a separate conversation. In California, it is 2.91 times (!) Higher than the US average. The cost of renting an apartment costs an average of $ 2241 per month , which is 71% more than the national average.
Focus business experts have posted great infographics that summarize all this information.