| var TRINITY_TTS_WP_CONFIG = {“cleanText”:”Silicon Valley tech economy is hot, but not everyone benefits. Silicon Valley’s tech economy is hotter than ever, but many residents are being left behind.\u23f8\u2587That\u2019s one key message from this year\u2019s Silicon Valley Index, an in-depth annual report card for the region from local think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The group presented the report at its annual State of the Valley event Friday at San Jose State University to a capacity crowd of 500.\u23f8\u2587The report shows the local economy boomed by 38% in the last decade from 2015 to 2025, faster than California as a whole at 19% and the entire U.S. at 22%. Venture capitalists poured $92 billion into Bay Area companies last year, nearly matching the record of $100 billion in 2021. Inventors in Silicon Valley racked up 23,000 patents \u2014 just below the all-time high in 2024.\u23f8\u2587\u201cSilicon Valley\u2019s innovation engine is as hot as it\u2019s ever been,\u201d Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture, said in a call with reporters Wednesday. \u201cThe highest-skill jobs are still located here, the ones making the electrons dance.\u201d\u23f8\u2587At the same time, income inequality and stratospheric housing costs make life a struggle for residents working\u00a0outside of tech.\u23f8\u2587The top 10% of Silicon Valley households own 75% of the region\u2019s wealth, the report shows, while in Europe the top 10% control only 25%. The bottom half of households in Silicon Valley own just 1% of wealth. Roughly 28% of local households require outside assistance \u2014 from family members, charities or government programs \u2014 to survive.\u23f8\u2587\”We see firsthand how widening income inequality undermines economic mobility and weakens the fabric of our community,\” Don Taylor, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \”Many families are working full time \u2014 often holding multiple jobs \u2014 yet still cannot achieve self-sufficiency because wages have not kept pace with the high cost of living. When minimum wage is not a living wage, assistance becomes a bridge to survival rather than a pathway to long-term stability.\”\u23f8\u2587Jim Beall, a former state lawmaker and current Valley Water board member, attended Joint Venture’s Friday event. He said the lack of job growth is a dark cloud in an otherwise healthy regional economy. Total employment remains slightly above pre-pandemic levels, the reports shows, but declined by 0.8% between mid-2024 and mid-2025, with little net growth since 2022.\u23f8\u2587\u201cI\u2019m worried about the younger generation,\u201d Beall told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.\u00a0\u201cA lot of younger people coming up are looking for work. We need to find answers for that, such as science and math training programs.\u201d\u23f8\u2587Repeating a theme from last year’s findings, Hancock said Friday the region\u2019s wealth disparity is the starkest income and wealth gap anywhere on the planet and represents \”the conditions for instability\” that in the past have caused \”blood in the streets.\”\u23f8\u2587A major contributor to the wealth gap is housing. The median price tag last year for a single-family home in Silicon Valley hit $1.98 million \u2014 almost five times higher than the national average, according to the report. A family of four would need to earn $488,000 per year to afford that without being under financial pressure, based on federal guidelines.\u23f8\u2587Silicon Valley\u2019s population of roughly 2.7 million people has returned to pre-pandemic levels, which the report said is driven by migrants from outside the U.S. who are arriving in greater numbers than current area residents who are moving elsewhere in the country. The report defines Silicon Valley as Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, as well as Fremont, Newark and Union City in Alameda County and Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County.\u23f8\u2587But population gains might not last. Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto and an advisor to Joint Venture, said federal immigration policies are shutting off the flow of migration \u2014 affecting tech professionals and service workers.\u23f8\u2587\u201cWe have two challenges to our future competitiveness: making the U.S. welcoming to immigrants and housing affordability,\u201d Levy told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cHigh-tech firms can\u2019t exist without the (immigrant-driven) service economy.\u201d\u23f8\u2587There\u2019s also a shift in the age of Silicon Valley\u2019s population, with residents age 65 and above increasing 29% since 2014 and children under 18 declining by 15%, the report shows. Hancock said this \u201csilver tsunami\u201d is already having an impact as local school districts with declining enrollment closing schools.\u23f8\u2587Maria Nicoladoudis, chief executive officer of Hearts & Minds Activity Center in San Jose, which offers day care programs for both pre-school children and older adults with dementia, said residents are struggling to find care for older family members. Adult grandchildren in their 20s and 30s are often stepping into caregiver roles, she said.\u23f8\u2587\u201cIf they\u2019re taking time out of work and school, then they\u2019re putting their own futures on hold,\u201d Nicoladoudis told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey\u2019re deferring their ability to build up wealth and stay in this valley.\u201d\u23f8\u2587Contact Mike Langberg at mike@langberg.com.”,”headlineText”:”Silicon Valley tech economy is hot, but not everyone benefits”,”articleText”:”Silicon Valley’s tech economy is hotter than ever, but many residents are being left behind.\u23f8\u2587That\u2019s one key message from this year\u2019s Silicon Valley Index, an in-depth annual report card for the region from local think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The group presented the report at its annual State of the Valley event Friday at San Jose State University to a capacity crowd of 500.\u23f8\u2587The report shows the local economy boomed by 38% in the last decade from 2015 to 2025, faster than California as a whole at 19% and the entire U.S. at 22%. Venture capitalists poured $92 billion into Bay Area companies last year, nearly matching the record of $100 billion in 2021. Inventors in Silicon Valley racked up 23,000 patents \u2014 just below the all-time high in 2024.\u23f8\u2587\u201cSilicon Valley\u2019s innovation engine is as hot as it\u2019s ever been,\u201d Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture, said in a call with reporters Wednesday. \u201cThe highest-skill jobs are still located here, the ones making the electrons dance.\u201d\u23f8\u2587At the same time, income inequality and stratospheric housing costs make life a struggle for residents working\u00a0outside of tech.\u23f8\u2587The top 10% of Silicon Valley households own 75% of the region\u2019s wealth, the report shows, while in Europe the top 10% control only 25%. The bottom half of households in Silicon Valley own just 1% of wealth. Roughly 28% of local households require outside assistance \u2014 from family members, charities or government programs \u2014 to survive.\u23f8\u2587\”We see firsthand how widening income inequality undermines economic mobility and weakens the fabric of our community,\” Don Taylor, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \”Many families are working full time \u2014 often holding multiple jobs \u2014 yet still cannot achieve self-sufficiency because wages have not kept pace with the high cost of living. When minimum wage is not a living wage, assistance becomes a bridge to survival rather than a pathway to long-term stability.\”\u23f8\u2587Jim Beall, a former state lawmaker and current Valley Water board member, attended Joint Venture’s Friday event. He said the lack of job growth is a dark cloud in an otherwise healthy regional economy. Total employment remains slightly above pre-pandemic levels, the reports shows, but declined by 0.8% between mid-2024 and mid-2025, with little net growth since 2022.\u23f8\u2587\u201cI\u2019m worried about the younger generation,\u201d Beall told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.\u00a0\u201cA lot of younger people coming up are looking for work. We need to find answers for that, such as science and math training programs.\u201d\u23f8\u2587Repeating a theme from last year’s findings, Hancock said Friday the region\u2019s wealth disparity is the starkest income and wealth gap anywhere on the planet and represents \”the conditions for instability\” that in the past have caused \”blood in the streets.\”\u23f8\u2587A major contributor to the wealth gap is housing. The median price tag last year for a single-family home in Silicon Valley hit $1.98 million \u2014 almost five times higher than the national average, according to the report. A family of four would need to earn $488,000 per year to afford that without being under financial pressure, based on federal guidelines.\u23f8\u2587Silicon Valley\u2019s population of roughly 2.7 million people has returned to pre-pandemic levels, which the report said is driven by migrants from outside the U.S. who are arriving in greater numbers than current area residents who are moving elsewhere in the country. The report defines Silicon Valley as Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, as well as Fremont, Newark and Union City in Alameda County and Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County.\u23f8\u2587But population gains might not last. Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto and an advisor to Joint Venture, said federal immigration policies are shutting off the flow of migration \u2014 affecting tech professionals and service workers.\u23f8\u2587\u201cWe have two challenges to our future competitiveness: making the U.S. welcoming to immigrants and housing affordability,\u201d Levy told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cHigh-tech firms can\u2019t exist without the (immigrant-driven) service economy.\u201d\u23f8\u2587There\u2019s also a shift in the age of Silicon Valley\u2019s population, with residents age 65 and above increasing 29% since 2014 and children under 18 declining by 15%, the report shows. Hancock said this \u201csilver tsunami\u201d is already having an impact as local school districts with declining enrollment closing schools.\u23f8\u2587Maria Nicoladoudis, chief executive officer of Hearts & Minds Activity Center in San Jose, which offers day care programs for both pre-school children and older adults with dementia, said residents are struggling to find care for older family members. Adult grandchildren in their 20s and 30s are often stepping into caregiver roles, she said.\u23f8\u2587\u201cIf they\u2019re taking time out of work and school, then they\u2019re putting their own futures on hold,\u201d Nicoladoudis told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey\u2019re deferring their ability to build up wealth and stay in this valley.\u201d\u23f8\u2587Contact Mike Langberg at mike@langberg.com.”,”metadata”:{“author”:”Mike Langberg”},”pluginVersion”:”5.26.0″}; |
Silicon Valley’s tech economy is hotter than ever, but many residents are being left behind.
That’s one key message from this year’s Silicon Valley Index, an in-depth annual report card for the region from local think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The group presented the report at its annual State of the Valley event Friday at San Jose State University to a capacity crowd of 500.
The report shows the local economy boomed by 38% in the last decade from 2015 to 2025, faster than California as a whole at 19% and the entire U.S. at 22%. Venture capitalists poured $92 billion into Bay Area companies last year, nearly matching the record of $100 billion in 2021. Inventors in Silicon Valley racked up 23,000 patents — just below the all-time high in 2024.
“Silicon Valley’s innovation engine is as hot as it’s ever been,” Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture, said in a call with reporters Wednesday. “The highest-skill jobs are still located here, the ones making the electrons dance.”
At the same time, income inequality and stratospheric housing costs make life a struggle for residents working outside of tech.
The top 10% of Silicon Valley households own 75% of the region’s wealth, the report shows, while in Europe the top 10% control only 25%. The bottom half of households in Silicon Valley own just 1% of wealth. Roughly 28% of local households require outside assistance — from family members, charities or government programs — to survive.
“We see firsthand how widening income inequality undermines economic mobility and weakens the fabric of our community,” Don Taylor, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, told San José Spotlight. “Many families are working full time — often holding multiple jobs — yet still cannot achieve self-sufficiency because wages have not kept pace with the high cost of living. When minimum wage is not a living wage, assistance becomes a bridge to survival rather than a pathway to long-term stability.”
Jim Beall, a former state lawmaker and current Valley Water board member, attended Joint Venture’s Friday event. He said the lack of job growth is a dark cloud in an otherwise healthy regional economy. Total employment remains slightly above pre-pandemic levels, the reports shows, but declined by 0.8% between mid-2024 and mid-2025, with little net growth since 2022.
“I’m worried about the younger generation,” Beall told San José Spotlight. “A lot of younger people coming up are looking for work. We need to find answers for that, such as science and math training programs.”
Repeating a theme from last year’s findings, Hancock said Friday the region’s wealth disparity is the starkest income and wealth gap anywhere on the planet and represents “the conditions for instability” that in the past have caused “blood in the streets.”
A major contributor to the wealth gap is housing. The median price tag last year for a single-family home in Silicon Valley hit $1.98 million — almost five times higher than the national average, according to the report. A family of four would need to earn $488,000 per year to afford that without being under financial pressure, based on federal guidelines.
Silicon Valley’s population of roughly 2.7 million people has returned to pre-pandemic levels, which the report said is driven by migrants from outside the U.S. who are arriving in greater numbers than current area residents who are moving elsewhere in the country. The report defines Silicon Valley as Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, as well as Fremont, Newark and Union City in Alameda County and Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County.
But population gains might not last. Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto and an advisor to Joint Venture, said federal immigration policies are shutting off the flow of migration — affecting tech professionals and service workers.
“We have two challenges to our future competitiveness: making the U.S. welcoming to immigrants and housing affordability,” Levy told San José Spotlight. “High-tech firms can’t exist without the (immigrant-driven) service economy.”
There’s also a shift in the age of Silicon Valley’s population, with residents age 65 and above increasing 29% since 2014 and children under 18 declining by 15%, the report shows. Hancock said this “silver tsunami” is already having an impact as local school districts with declining enrollment closing schools.
Maria Nicoladoudis, chief executive officer of Hearts & Minds Activity Center in San Jose, which offers day care programs for both pre-school children and older adults with dementia, said residents are struggling to find care for older family members. Adult grandchildren in their 20s and 30s are often stepping into caregiver roles, she said.
“If they’re taking time out of work and school, then they’re putting their own futures on hold,” Nicoladoudis told San José Spotlight. “They’re deferring their ability to build up wealth and stay in this valley.”
Contact Mike Langberg at [email protected].
