Useful Stats: Share of U.S. Venture Capital Investment by State, 2009-2014
California-based companies received about 56 percent of all U.S. venture capital dollars in 2014, the state's highest share of venture activity since the dot com boom of the early 2000s. Over the past 15 years, investment activity has steadily become more concentrated in California and a few other states. In 2009, about 67 percent of all deals and 74 percent of venture capital dollars flowed to the top five states. By 2014, those states' share of venture dollars grew to 80 percent, according to NVCA/Pricewaterhouse Coopers data. A recent Harvard Business Review article, however, suggests that startups are receiving first-round funding in more metropolitan areas than ever.
The NVCA/PwC data indicate that California's dominance over the U.S. venture capital industry appears to be holding steady, but its high percentage of national venture capital dollars is due to larger deals rather than larger number of funded companies.
Over the past 10 years, California's share of the nation's venture capital dollars has grown from about 47 percent to 56 percent. The state's share of deals, however, has remained fairly steady. In 2005, California's companies secured a little over 41 percent of U.S. deals, about the same as in 2014. Over the same period of time, the state's actual number of deals grew by 35 percent, almost the same as the national average of 32 percent.
Among the top five states, only California and New York increased their share of national venture capital dollars and deals between 2009 and 2014. New York, which recently surpassed Massachusetts as the country's second-strongest venture capital market, accounts for almost 10 percent of the U.S. investment activity. In 2005, New York companies secured about 6.5 percent of U.S. deals and 5 percent of dollars. By 2014, they received about 10 percent of deals and 9 percent of dollars.
Both Massachusetts and Texas saw their share of national activity decline. Pennsylvania held steady as one of the top five states for dealflow, and Washington surpassed New Jersey and Illinois to join the top five in terms of total dollars.
The rise of New York and the proliferation of cash in California appear to be the most notable trends in the data over the past five years. These two states now account for more than half of U.S. deals and about 65 percent of all investment dollars. Massachusetts remains a strong venture market, though its growth has been less strong than the other two states. The rest of the country remains far behind.
SSTI has prepared tables of each state's share of U.S. venture capital dollars and deals. Download the tables in Excel format...
Ian Hathaway, writing for the Harvard Business Review, however, finds some encouraging news for other regions. By narrowing his focus to "first fundings" in the 381 U.S. metropolitan areas, Hathaway finds that venture capital is becoming available to entrepreneurs in more places than ever.
The total number of entrepreneurs receiving first fundings grew by 150 percent between 2009 and 2012, plateaued in 2013 and fell a bit in 2014. About 83 percent of metro areas still receive little to no venture deals (five or fewer), but over the past two years, the share of deals going to to venture hotspots appears to be decreasing. More metros than ever are home to some level of venture activity.
Read Startup Capital is Spreading Across the U.S. ...
Share of Venture Capital Deals by State, 2009-2014
Source: National Venture Capital Association/PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Bureau of the Census
Prepared by SSTI
State | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Alabama | 0.32% | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.15% | 0.10% | 0.07% |
Arkansas | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.10% | 0.11% |
Arizona | 0.57% | 0.44% | 0.56% | 0.51% | 0.60% | 0.71% |
California | 40.98% | 40.14% | 40.49% | 41.62% | 40.23% | 41.41% |
Colorado | 2.97% | 2.41% | 2.72% | 2.77% | 1.98% | 1.97% |
Connecticut | 1.34% | 1.74% | 1.42% | 1.24% | 1.24% | 1.24% |
District of Columbia | 0.29% | 0.44% | 0.28% | 0.66% | 0.83% | 0.73% |
Delaware | 0.22% | 0.25% | 0.25% | 0.18% | 0.12% | 0.21% |
Florida | 1.18% | 1.27% | 1.40% | 0.91% | 1.17% | 1.03% |
Georgia | 1.47% | 1.91% | 1.52% | 1.40% | 0.98% | 1.38% |
Hawaii | 0.10% | 0.08% | 0.08% | 0.08% | 0.07% | 0.09% |
Iowa | 0.29% | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.05% | 0.07% | 0.18% |
Idaho | 0.13% | 0.11% | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.05% | 0.05% |
Illinois | 1.76% | 2.08% | 2.57% | 2.11% | 2.19% | 2.27% |
Indiana | 0.48% | 0.47% | 0.36% | 0.43% | 0.31% | 0.46% |
Kansas | 0.54% | 1.00% | 1.17% | 0.30% | 0.24% | 0.25% |
Kentucky | 0.32% | 0.42% | 0.23% | 0.20% | 0.17% | 0.30% |
Louisiana | 0.35% | 0.08% | 0.20% | 0.08% | 0.14% | 0.09% |
Massachusetts | 10.92% | 10.30% | 10.03% | 10.85% | 9.04% | 9.09% |
Maryland | 2.46% | 2.08% | 1.85% | 1.63% | 1.91% | 2.00% |
Maine | 0.13% | 0.19% | 0.13% | 0.15% | 0.12% | 0.28% |
Michigan | 1.18% | 0.86% | 0.91% | 1.32% | 1.76% | 1.15% |
Minnesota | 1.18% | 0.80% | 1.19% | 0.79% | 0.86% | 0.87% |
Missouri | 0.38% | 0.42% | 0.58% | 0.30% | 0.91% | 1.10% |
Mississippi | 0.13% | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.02% |
Montant | 0.03% | 0.08% | 0.05% | 0.15% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
North Carolina | 1.24% | 1.61% | 1.22% | 0.89% | 1.24% | 1.24% |
North Dakota | 0.10% | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.07% | 0.05% |
Nebraska | 0.00% | 0.11% | 0.03% | 0.10% | 0.21% | 0.41% |
New Hampshire | 0.41% | 0.28% | 0.33% | 0.20% | 0.48% | 0.23% |
New Jersey | 2.46% | 1.97% | 1.63% | 1.40% | 1.07% | 0.83% |
New Mexico | 0.41% | 0.22% | 0.25% | 0.38% | 0.41% | 0.28% |
Nevada | 0.13% | 0.14% | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.21% | 0.18% |
New York | 6.48% | 8.19% | 8.76% | 9.04% | 10.18% | 9.96% |
Ohio | 1.88% | 1.74% | 1.85% | 1.42% | 1.86% | 1.49% |
Oklahoma | 0.13% | 0.06% | 0.10% | 0.15% | 0.19% | 0.18% |
Oregon | 0.48% | 0.97% | 0.94% | 0.76% | 0.91% | 0.73% |
Pennsylvania | 4.37% | 4.46% | 3.84% | 4.80% | 5.65% | 4.34% |
Puerto Rico | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Rhode Island | 0.48% | 0.30% | 0.36% | 0.38% | 0.31% | 0.34% |
South Carolina | 0.16% | 0.25% | 0.10% | 0.13% | 0.33% | 0.11% |
South Dakota | 0.10% | 0.03% | 0.05% | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.02% |
Tennessee | 0.54% | 0.83% | 0.94% | 1.24% | 1.53% | 1.93% |
Texas | 4.02% | 4.51% | 4.24% | 4.34% | 3.84% | 4.29% |
Utah | 1.09% | 0.75% | 1.24% | 1.12% | 0.83% | 0.99% |
Virginia | 1.56% | 1.61% | 1.96% | 2.01% | 1.62% | 1.72% |
Vermont | 0.22% | 0.19% | 0.20% | 0.13% | 0.21% | 0.30% |
Washington | 3.45% | 3.27% | 3.18% | 2.82% | 3.10% | 2.59% |
Wisconsin | 0.45% | 0.58% | 0.38% | 0.36% | 0.43% | 0.64% |
West Virginia | 0.10% | 0.11% | 0.05% | 0.08% | 0.02% | 0.05% |
Wyoming | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Share of Venture Capital Dollars by State, 2009-2014
Source: National Venture Capital Association/PricewaterhouseCoopers and the U.S. Bureau of the Census
Prepared by SSTI
State | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Alabama | 0.21% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.08% | 0.01% | 0.02% |
Arkansas | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.29% | 0.04% |
Arizona | 0.45% | 0.34% | 0.78% | 0.88% | 0.38% | 0.53% |
California | 50.14% | 50.80% | 49.97% | 52.65% | 50.53% | 56.16% |
Colorado | 3.05% | 1.92% | 2.09% | 2.21% | 1.55% | 1.64% |
Connecticut | 0.93% | 0.93% | 0.53% | 0.55% | 0.71% | 1.08% |
District of Columbia | 0.29% | 0.46% | 0.18% | 0.22% | 0.96% | 0.50% |
Delaware | 0.10% | 0.14% | 0.09% | 0.03% | 0.24% | 0.03% |
Florida | 1.67% | 1.02% | 1.18% | 0.73% | 1.42% | 1.78% |
Georgia | 1.53% | 1.45% | 1.30% | 0.95% | 1.28% | 1.03% |
Hawaii | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
Iowa | 0.41% | 0.22% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.11% | 0.05% |
Idaho | 0.07% | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.05% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
Illinois | 1.26% | 2.82% | 2.61% | 2.26% | 1.51% | 2.21% |
Indiana | 1.13% | 0.34% | 0.60% | 0.31% | 0.08% | 0.10% |
Kansas | 0.04% | 0.18% | 0.19% | 0.17% | 0.11% | 0.11% |
Kentucky | 0.09% | 0.07% | 0.04% | 0.09% | 0.05% | 0.10% |
Louisiana | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.07% | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.10% |
Massachusetts | 11.51% | 10.35% | 10.63% | 12.13% | 10.20% | 9.68% |
Maryland | 1.88% | 1.91% | 1.07% | 1.47% | 2.17% | 0.75% |
Maine | 0.06% | 0.02% | 0.13% | 0.05% | 0.09% | 0.04% |
Michigan | 0.87% | 0.65% | 0.29% | 0.89% | 0.37% | 0.45% |
Minnesota | 1.38% | 0.59% | 0.93% | 0.94% | 0.90% | 0.76% |
Missouri | 0.09% | 0.41% | 0.46% | 0.08% | 0.26% | 0.35% |
Mississippi | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Montant | 0.07% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
North Carolina | 1.24% | 1.83% | 1.03% | 0.66% | 0.87% | 0.71% |
North Dakota | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.08% | 0.02% |
Nebraska | 0.00% | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.04% | 0.09% |
New Hampshire | 0.23% | 0.24% | 0.19% | 0.29% | 0.36% | 0.23% |
New Jersey | 3.25% | 1.95% | 1.65% | 1.51% | 1.08% | 0.66% |
New Mexico | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.22% | 0.13% | 0.09% | 0.03% |
Nevada | 0.08% | 0.15% | 0.03% | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.09% |
New York | 5.19% | 6.04% | 8.24% | 6.96% | 9.37% | 8.82% |
Ohio | 0.60% | 0.76% | 1.47% | 0.97% | 0.85% | 0.56% |
Oklahoma | 0.02% | 0.06% | 0.09% | 0.12% | 0.03% | 0.03% |
Oregon | 0.33% | 0.78% | 0.80% | 0.45% | 0.46% | 0.40% |
Pennsylvania | 2.22% | 2.24% | 1.73% | 1.90% | 1.54% | 1.60% |
Puerto Rico | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Rhode Island | 0.15% | 0.25% | 0.14% | 0.31% | 0.27% | 0.26% |
South Carolina | 0.03% | 0.11% | 0.20% | 0.14% | 0.29% | 0.10% |
South Dakota | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.04% | 0.01% |
Tennessee | 0.37% | 0.29% | 0.36% | 0.35% | 0.36% | 0.30% |
Texas | 3.83% | 4.56% | 5.36% | 3.70% | 4.49% | 3.12% |
Utah | 0.79% | 0.59% | 0.83% | 1.15% | 1.06% | 1.66% |
Virginia | 1.17% | 1.75% | 2.10% | 0.99% | 2.13% | 0.98% |
Vermont | 0.14% | 0.14% | 0.08% | 0.02% | 0.07% | 0.08% |
Washington | 2.84% | 2.66% | 1.87% | 3.09% | 3.10% | 2.58% |
Wisconsin | 0.13% | 0.58% | 0.25% | 0.33% | 0.11% | 0.18% |
West Virginia | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Wyoming | 0.00% | 0.04% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
California, New Yorkventure capital, capital, useful stats Share of VC.xlsx