Is Seattle the next Silicon Valley? (Infographic)

This week the eyes of the tech world were firmly fixed on Austin, Tex. for South by Southwest Interactive. Partly because of that event, Austin is often mentioned with Silicon Valley and New York City as one of America’s great tech hubs.

Let’s not forget about Seattle. Cost of gas, energy, and real estate (not to mention natural beauty) are just some of the reasons why the Emerald city is not only one of the best places in the country to live, but also one of the most attractive places for startups to bootstrap or for bigger companies to make the hires necessary to scale their operations.

As this infographic demonstrates, average salaries are lower in the Pacific Northwest for positions such as Project Manager, as well as cost per square footage of office space. There is also a deep talent pool in the form of top tech companies and several strong universities with engineering programs.

Even though Austin hogs the spotlight this time of year, spend a few minutes soaking up Seattle in the infographic below. It may leave some entrepreneurs willing to consider a move.

Infographic via Seattle Nissan  (Click image below to enlarge)

John Boitnott is a writer and social media consultant who has worked at Village Voice Media and NBC. He is now Vice President of Business Development at Hasai Inc.