Washington, DC -- The DC area now ranks fourth among all metropolitan areas in North America in terms of the economic activity that it creates through its technology industry, according to a new study by the Milken Institute. The study ranked 393 high-tech regions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, based on data such as employment and wages in 19 specific tech industries. Silicon Valley led the list, followed by the Seattle area and Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass. The Greater DC area, moved up a spot from the previous rankings in 2003, leapfrogging Los Angeles. The area encompassing Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Frederick also ranked No. 25 on its own, while the Baltimore area ranked No. 32. Ross DeVol, the report's author, said that cities with the strongest high-tech bases will perform best as the economy recovers, since the jobs generated by those fields pay so well. "Every sector has been impacted by the current economic downturn, but high-tech centers will come out on top," said DeVol. The complete rankings are available at the link below.

http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/publications.taf?function=detail&ID=38801199&cat=resrep