Economy

Silicon Valley has a social and business ethos that supports innovation and entrepreneurship.Attempts to create“Silicon Valleys”in environments where disruptive innovation does not go over well have a poor track record.

According to a 2008study by AEA in 2006，Silicon Valley was the third largest high-tech center（cyber-city）in the United States，behind the New York metropolitan area and Washington metropolitan area，with 225，300high-tech jobs.The Bay Area as a whole however，of which Silicon Valley is a part，would rank first with 387，000high-tech jobs.Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of high-tech workers of any metropolitan area，with 285.9out of every 1，000private-sector workers.Silicon Valley has the highest average high-tech salary at＄144，800.Largely a result of the high technology sector，the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara，CA Metropolitan Statistical Area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the United States per capita.

The region is the biggest high-tech manufacturing center in the United States.The unemployment rate of the region was 9.4%in January 2009，up from 7.8%in the previous month.Silicon Valley received 41% of all U.S.venture investment in 2011，and 46% in 2012.

Manufacture of transistors is，or was，the core industry in Silicon Valley.The production workforce was for the most part composed of Asian and Latina immigrants who were paid low wages and worked in hazardous conditions due to the chemicals used in the manufacture of integrated circuits.Technical，engineering，design，and administrative staffs were in large part well compensated.

Many more jobs（400，000during the period 2010to 2015）are created in Silicon Valley than housing built（60，000units during the period 2010to 2015）.Housing prices are extremely high，far out of the range of production workers.As of 2016a two-bedroom apartment rented for about＄2，500 while the median home price was about＄1 million.The Financial Post called Silicon Valley the most expensive U.S.housing region.Homelessness is a problem with housing beyond the reach of middle-income residents；there is little shelter space other than in San Jose which，as of 2015，was making an effort to develop shelters by renovating old hotels.