The Digital Economy

In the old economy, virtually all economic transactions involved the transfer of physical goods and paper records or person-to-person transactions. In the emerging digital economy, a significant share of both business and government transactions will be conducted through digital electronic means. The Internet economy is currently worth $830 billion, and almost 50 percent of households are online.14 Moreover, despite some high profile dot-com bankruptcies, both e-commerce and the Internet continue to grow. Between October 2000 and February 2001, nearly 17 million internet hosts were added worldwide.15 But when the digital economy really takes off (i.e., when Internet penetration is close to ubiquitous and key enabling systems like digital authentication, smart cards, and broadband telecommunications are in widespread use), the productivity and income gains will be enormous. The digital economy is likely to do as much to foster metro economic growth in the 21st century as the Industrial Revolutions did in the late 19th to mid 20th century.

The digital economy indicators in this section measure five things: 1) percentage of adults online; 2) commercial (".com") Internet domain names; 3) percentage of children using computers in the classroom; 4) Internet backbone; 5) broadband telecommunication providers.

		100th-76th Percentile
		75th-51st Percentile
		50th-26th Percentile
		25th-1st Percentile

METRO AREAS BY RANK
Rank	Metro Area	Score
1	San Francisco	16.8
2	Austin	14.4
3	San Diego	13.6
4	Washington	13.4
5	Denver	12.9
6	Dallas	12.4
7	Seattle	12.3
8	Los Angeles	12.2
9	Salt Lake City	12.1
10	Atlanta	12.1
11	Phoenix	10.9
12	Kansas City	10.8
13	Portland	10.7
14	Chicago	10.6
15	Houston	10.4
16	Sacramento	10.4
17	Las Vegas	10.1
18	Miami	9.9
19	Boston	9.5
20	Minneapolis	9.4
21	Orlando	9.3
22	New York	9.2
23	Indianapolis	8.9
24	Philadelphia	8.8
25	Raleigh-Durham	8.5
26	St. Louis	8.2
27	Charlotte	8.1
28	Norfolk	8.1
29	Cleveland	7.9
30	Detroit	7.8
31	Nashville	7.7
32	Milwaukee	7.3
33	Jacksonville	7.2
34	Oklahoma City	7.2
35	Columbus	7.1
36	Hartford	6.7
37	New Orleans	6.7
38	Memphis	6.6
39	Tampa	6.5
40	Buffalo	6.4
41	West Palm Beach	6.4
42	Pittsburgh	6.3
43	Greensboro	6.1
44	Louisville	6.1
45	Cincinnati	6.0
46	Richmond	6.0
47	San Antonio	5.6
48	Dayton	5.6
49	Rochester	5.4
50	Grand Rapids	5.1
	Top 50 Metro Average	9.0

ALPHABETICALLY
Metro Area	Rank	Score
Atlanta	10	12.1
Austin	2	14.4
Boston	19	9.5
Buffalo	40	6.4
Charlotte	27	8.1
Chicago	14	10.6
Cincinnati	45	6.0
Cleveland	29	7.9
Columbus	35	7.1
Dallas	6	12.4
Dayton	48	5.6
Denver	5	12.9
Detroit	30	7.8
Grand Rapids	50	5.1
Greensboro	43	6.1
Hartford	36	6.7
Houston	15	10.4
Indianapolis	23	8.9
Jacksonville	33	7.2
Kansas City	12	10.8
Las Vegas	17	10.1
Los Angeles	8	12.2
Louisville	44	6.1
Memphis	38	6.6
Miami	18	9.9
Milwaukee	32	7.3
Minneapolis	20	9.4
Nashville	31	7.7
New Orleans	37	6.7
New York	22	9.2
Norfolk	28	8.1
Oklahoma City	34	7.2
Orlando	21	9.3
Philadelphia	24	8.8
Phoenix	11	10.9
Pittsburgh	42	6.3
Portland	13	10.7
Raleigh-Durham	25	8.5
Richmond	46	6.0
Rochester	49	5.4
Sacramento	16	10.4
Salt Lake City	9	12.1
San Antonio	47	5.6
San Diego	3	13.6
San Francisco	1	16.8
Seattle	7	12.3
St. Louis	26	8.2
Tampa	39	6.5
Washington	4	13.4
West Palm Beach	41	6.4

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The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
Technology, Innovation, and New Economy Project
600 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Suite 400, Washington DC 20003
Phone: (202) 547-0001
www.ppionline.org

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