Useful Stats: Venture Capital Activity Per Capita/GDP by State, 2009-2014

Following the massive uptick in venture capital activity last year, California has solidified its place as the epicenter of investment activity, according to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Since the beginnings of the industry, Silicon Valley has dominated the venture capital landscape. Due to California's large overall population and economy, however, Massachusetts has outperformed the state in terms of per capita investment and venture dollars as a share of state GDP. In 2014, that situation changed, with the continued emergence of Los Angeles, San Diego and Northern California as investment hotspots.

SSTI has prepared tables showing venture capital activity per capita by state during the 2009-2014 period. The data also includes venture capital dollars per one million dollars in state GDP and deals per one billion dollars in state GDP during the 2009-2013 period, since 2014 state GDP data remains unavailable. These tables are available for download in Excel format. Read the previous SSTI Digest article on total venture capital dollars and deals by state, 2009-2014...

Note that GDP by state data remains unavailable for 2014.

In 2014, U.S. venture firms invested about $152 and conducted about 1.37 deals per resident of the country. Both figures represent a significant increase in per capita activity since the economic downturn, but a much larger gain in terms of dollars than in deals.

This activity was highly concentrated in a few states. Only six states had a per capita investment level higher than the national average last year -- California, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Utah, New York and Washington.

While still in the grips of the Great Recession in 2009, California's relative investment level fell to its lowest point in a decade, about $278 per resident or about $5,400 per million dollars in GDP. Activity had recovered by 2011 in the state, plateaued for a few years, and jumped to its highest point in a decade in 2014. Last year, California companies received about $700 per resident, up 78 percent from the previous year and 150 percent from the post-crisis nadir in 2009.

Investment in Massachusetts followed a similar path after the recession, however, the commonwealth experienced a smaller, though still large, increase compared to California last year. Per capita investment grew from about $456 to $694 between 2013 and 2014, making Massachusetts a close second to California.

Venture Capital Per Capita Dollars by State, 2009-2014
Source: National Venture Capital Association/PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Bureau of the Census
Prepared by SSTI, Download in Excel format with additional data...