CompTIA Newsroom

Downers Grove, Ill. – April has been proclaimed Information Technology Month in Illinois by Gov. Bruce Rauner. To mark the occasion, CompTIA, the world’s leading technology association, is highlighting 10 facts and figures about the strength of the tech industry in the Land of Lincoln.

“CompTIA has called Illinois home since 1985,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of the association. “Back then few people outside the industry understood much about technology. Today, tech’s impact on our daily lives is universal.

“Together with our Illinois member companies and the broader tech community across the state, we’re pleased to recognize April as Information Technology Month, a true testament to the vibrancy and relevance of technology in Illinois,” Thibodeaux concluded.

Technology in Illinois: 10 Takeaways[1]

1. The tech industry is directly responsible for an estimated $43 billion (5.5 percent) of the state’s economy.
2. More than 531,000 Illinois residents work in technology; either as employees of tech companies or as technology professionals working in other industries.
3. The tech industry employs about 4.2 percent of the state’s overall workforce.
4. Illinois ranks seventh among the 50 states in tech industry employment.
5. Since 2010, Illinois has seen its tech industry employment grow by 16 percent, as employers added more than 34,000 workers.
6. The average annual wage for an Illinois tech industry worker was $99,500 in 2016, 77 percent higher than the average state wage ($56,200).
7. The gender ratio of the Illinois tech sector workforce is 66.5 percent men and 33.5 percent women, on par with the national figures.
8. The number of tech business establishments in Illinois has grown by 16.7 percent since 2010.
9. An estimated 1,100 new tech startups and tech business establishments opened in Illinois in 2015, the most recent year of available data.
10. There were an estimated 24,353 tech business establishments in Illinois at the end of 2016.

CompTIA and its charitable arm, Creating IT Futures, have organized several career-focused events over the course of the month. Visit Information Technology Month in Illinois for a list of activities and events.

CompTIA: Building the Foundation for Technology's Future

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading technology association, with approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners, over 100,000 registered users and more than two million IT certifications issued. CompTIA's unparalleled range of programs foster workforce skills development and generate critical knowledge and insight – building the foundation for technology’s future. Visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more. 

Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
(630) 678-8468
sostrowski@comptia.org