At a media round table event Tuesday morning, representatives from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Silicon Slopes, Women Tech Council and more unveiled new research about the state of Utah’s tech industry.

Spoiler alert: Everything people suspected about tech growth in Utah is true.

Over the past decade, Utah’s tech industry has grown twice the rate of California’s tech rate, and 2.5 times the national average at 4.9% per year, the second-highest in the country. Washington was the first-highest.

Just in the last year, according to the report, the tech industry supported one in seven Utah jobs and one-sixth of worker earnings in the state.

“In terms of total employment and wages in the private sector, no state with an economy of Utah’s size had a larger tech industry in 2018,” Levi Pace, a senior research economist at the Gardner Institute and the lead author of the report, said.

The report states on average, last year tech industry employees made 80% more than employees of other industries.

Beyond exploring Utah’s tech industry, the report also explores how it affects other industries in Utah, particularly industries that also create “tech” jobs even if they’re not strictly a tech company. Data from the report states that out of the $29.7 billion total economic impact created by the tech industry in Utah, $16.7 billion of that sum was actually created in industries indirectly impacted by tech. The tech industry last year provided over 118,600 jobs, while tech-related companies in other industries such as aerospace, defense, life sciences and so on provided almost 50,100 additional jobs.

Pace said taking the “comprehensive approach” to the research makes this report a “landmark” report, the first of its kind.

“This … will help industry leaders and policy makers make informed decisions,” he said.

At least some of those “informed decisions” should center around where and how companies begin and grow, said Clint Betts, Silicon Slopes executive director. The bulk of the tech growth is happening in Utah and Salt Lake Counties, at 10.2% and 6.2% respectively. The next highest growth was in Cache County at 4.7%. Several counties had growth less than 1%.

The lack of a “spread” when it comes to growth can cause a whole slew of problems, from housing affordability to education opportunities. For that reason, Betts is an advocate for extending “Silicon Slopes” farther.

“If we start focusing on extending access to opportunity, that solves a lot of problems,” he said. So far, there hasn’t been any resistance, and Betts said they’re looking to open Silicon Slopes “East” soon.

Ginger Chinn, managing director of Urban and Rural Business Services for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said opportunity zones in Utah — several of which are designated in “rural” areas — could play a major role in encouraging tech industry growth in those other counties.

Another concern that has grown right along the tech industry is housing affordability.

“I think we’re on the verge of a housing crisis,” Betts said, comparing it to housing crises in Silicon Valley and Seattle.

The roundtable and the research also didn’t provide an answer as to how the burgeoning tech industry might widen the gap between the middle and lower classes. However, at least as far as employment goes, industries such as construction and leisure and hospitality are continuing to employ more people than tech.

The full report, titled “Utah’s Tech Economy Volume One: Economic Impacts, Industry Trends, Occupations, and Workers,” is available to view on the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute website.