TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Thousands of new jobs in the tech industry were added to the U.S. job market in 2021. A large number of those new jobs were in Florida, as far from the tech traditions of Silicon Valley as you can get without leaving the country.

A report by CompTIA, a tech trade association and non-profit, found that of the thousands added, Florida was not only in the top 10, but had the second highest number of new jobs added in the past year.

  1. Texas +10,851
  2. Florida +10,522
  3. California +5,165
  4. North Carolina +5,004
  5. Washington +4,469
  6. Georgia +4,219
  7. Colorado +3,624
  8. Tennessee +3,282
  9. New Jersey +3,114
  10. Pennsylvania +2,844

While the number of tech jobs, known for being a higher-paying industry, were up in the Sunshine State, the wages for tech workers in Florida were not as high up in the rankings as the new openings.

Florida has remained near the top of the nation’s rankings for job openings since midway through 2021. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a series of job growth grant funding awards in January to include programs aimed at semiconductor manufacturing and technology jobs.

The governor announced additional funding in March for cybersecurity education, saying at the time that he recognized the need to bring tech jobs to Florida as the economy shifted toward that industry.

“The typical major business, finance – all of these different fields – they’re having to bat off cyber attacks all the time, it’s a major major thing. And yet, there are 22,000 unfilled high-paying cybersecurity jobs right here in Florida,” DeSantis said while in Tampa. “And the median wage for cybersecurity is estimated over $100,000 per year.”

While his comments on the median income were correct for the industry overall, the numbers vary somewhat by state.

Despite the tech industry’s reported $70 billion impact on the state’s economy, the median tech worker salary in Florida is only $79,397 per year.

It’s 113% higher than the state’s median wage, but compared to states like Texas and California, with wages at $91,885 and $116,729 per year respectively, job openings aren’t translated directly to higher pay. Of the top 10 states with biggest tech job growth numbers, here’s how the same states shake out when it comes to median income for tech workers.

  1. Washington $124,653
  2. California $116,729
  3. New Jersey $104,692
  4. Colorado $99,300
  5. Georgia $92,001
  6. Texas $91,885
  7. North Carolina $89,449
  8. Pennsylvania $85,900
  9. Florida $79,397
  10. Tennessee $75,065