Last month Built In NYC published our annual list of the city's 100 largest tech employers. That report showed a diverse and vibrant tech industry with just the 100 largest companies employing over 52,000 people. From big name West Coast transplants like Amazon, Google and Apple to local, homegrown companies like Bloomberg, Vice and Etsy, New York City's tech scene is growing up to be a globally recognized hotbed for innovation.
But, New York City is a big place, sprawling some 305 square miles with over 8.4 million people. We wanted to dig a little deeper and find out where those jobs were actually located.
As it turns out, the vast majority of tech companies call just a small portion of the city home. In fact, all but four of the top 100 tech companies can be found within a 4.5 square mile region, or about 1.5 percent of the city (pictured above, in black). If you add in the other four — including LiveStream's far-flung Bushwick office — they can all be found in an area roughly 15 square miles.
Related: The Best Companies to Work for in NYC
The Subway Reigns Supreme
96 percent of New York's largest tech employers are located in Manhattan. More specifically, they're located in Manhattan below 59th Street and overwhelmingly along the island's west side. The East Village, the Lower East Side and neighborhoods uptown are completely devoid of large tech companies. While that may seem odd, it can be at least partly explained by overlaying subway stops on the map of Manhattan. The largest density of tech companies correlates neatly to the densest area of subways in the city.
World Tech Center
The Financial District may seem like an unlikely outpost of Silicon Alley, but tech companies have a robust presence there. Most of the large employers are based in or around the World Trade Center complex. It has been experiencing a rebirth lately and tech companies are moving in.
In total, 10 percent of the largest employers are located within a couple of blocks of One World Trade Center, representing a 0.1 square mile area.
Beyond Manhattan
There were only four companies that made the list with offices outside of Manhattan, and three of those were in Brooklyn. Etsy has offices in DUMBO, Vice Media has offices in Williamsburg and Livestream has offices in Bushwick. Fresh Direct got Queens on the map, with a large footprint in Long Island City. There were no companies on the list with offices in Staten Island or the Bronx.
Iconic Buildings for Iconic Companies
Tech companies are leasing space in some of the city's most iconic buildings. MediaMath, xAd and Mic all have offices inside the World Trade Center Complex, while Shutterstock and LinkedIn have offices inside the Empire State Building. Artnet is inside the Woolworth Building, Schoology is above Penn Station, Yext is inside the Old MetLife Tower, and Yelp is next door in the MetLife North Building.
