Tech workers in the D.C. region are seeing salaries nearly as high as their Silicon Valley peers.

Tech staff within the D.C. area are seeing salaries almost as excessive as their Silicon Valley friends.

Why it issues: Diversifying our financial system is a high objective for regional leaders, given the notion — and, partially, the fact — that we’re a authorities city.

By the numbers: Techies in San Francisco are nonetheless out-earning D.C. tech workers, however on common not by a lot, in response to firm knowledge compiled by the administration software program agency Carta.

As of June, tech staff within the Washington metro make 97% of what these in San Francisco earn.

• We took a large leap of 12 share factors from 2021 to 2022, only a hair away from the top-tier cities, which additionally embody New York and Seattle.

The massive image: Northern Virginia has develop into a magnet for the business, with the Dulles Expertise Hall persevering with its development alongside the Silver Line and Amazon HQ2 going up in Arlington.

• And life sciences are booming in Montgomery County, making the area the second within the nation for expertise in that sector, as we reported yesterday.

What they’re saying: “This area is shedding the picture that it’s a authorities city,” mentioned Jennifer Taylor, head of the Northern Virginia Expertise Council, which has over 400 members within the tech business.

• She cites three many years of development that has accelerated in recent times, with massive names reminiscent of Microsoft and Google opening workplaces, along with authorities contractors increasing.

What’s subsequent: “Each time I flip round, all the pieces’s about AI, machine studying, and autonomous techniques,” Taylor advised Axios.

• New investments in academia hope to have a snowball impact, placing college students and employers on campuses. Taylor mentioned the upcoming Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria and George Mason’s Fuse at Mason Sq. in Arlington are two tasks that will likely be pivotal to “churning out extra expertise.”

One other shiny spot: The price of dwelling within the area is 23% decrease than in San Francisco, in response to NerdWallet’s value of dwelling calculator.