ill-innovation-index

According to a new report from the Illinois Innovation Network, the Prairie State is one of the national leaders in tech job concentration and growth. Illinois has nearly 400,000 businesses and an employment base of 5.7 million people.

More than 5 percent of the state economy is tech-based, edging out other Midwestern states like Ohio and Michigan, traditional tech leaders like California and New York, and economic rivals like Texas and Florida.

Illinois’ high-tech jobs are concentrated in Chicago, and the number of high-tech jobs in the state’s economic capital increased by 19.3 percent between 2011 and 2013. That growth outpaces other tech-oriented cities, including Seattle, Raleigh-Durham and Boston.