Sure, Silicon Beach is home to trendy companies like Snapchat and Tinder, but Los Angeles as a whole is still lagging behind Silicon Valley and San Francisco when it comes to tech.
A new study released Thursday by Cushman & Wakefield ranked L.A. just 18th among the country’s top 25 tech cities.
Silicon Valley and San Francisco ranked first and second on the ranking, which was based on factors such as the concentration of talent, capital and local university tech programs, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Robert Sammons of Cushman & Wakefield, the co-author of the report, told the Times that the rankings of New York (No. 15) and Los Angeles were shocking.
“The key reason why L.A. ranked where it did is the sheer size of the market,” he said. “L.A. is sprawling with different sectors across L.A. County and there is more of a focus on media and entertainment, so tech sometimes gets caught in the mix.”
Sammons said L.A. had the lowest percentage of its workforce in “knowledge occupations,” such as computer, mathematical and scientific occupations, which dragged down its position. Fewer than 20 percent of L.A. residents work in those fields, compared with more than 35 percent in Silicon Valley.
L.A. did rank fifth in venture capital funding, however. [LAT] — Subrina Hudson