Employment in Georgia's technology industry expanded by an estimated 7,290 jobs in 2017 and contributed $46.8 billion to the state's economy, according to Cyberstates 2018, the definitive annual analysis of the nation's tech industry published by CompTIA, the world's leading technology industry association. The state ranks ninth nationally in year-over-year job growth.

With 349,700 workers, Georgia ranks 12th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment. This accounts for 7.2 percent of the state's total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Georgia is $97,940, compared to the state's average private sector annual wage of $51,490.

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 9.5 percent ($46.8 billion) of the overall state economy. The state is home to some 17,989 tech business establishments.

Georgia ranked 5^th in its Cyberstates Innovation Score in 2017. This ranking is based on a state-by-state per capita analysis of tech startups/new tech business formations + venture capital.

The state also saw a 39.6 percent jump in the number of job postings related to emerging technologies – such as the Internet of Things, smart cities, drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and augmented reality, and blockchain.

In total, Georgia employers posted 96,390 jobs for technology positions last year.

Leading tech occupations in Georgia include software and web developers (43,930 positions, up 3.1 percent last year), network architects, administrators, and support specialists (24,870 jobs, up 1.8 percent) and computer support specialists (23,950 jobs, up 3.0 percent).

The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of software (packaged) (+ 4.2 percent) and IT services and custom software services (+ 2.9 percent).