The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to adapt to new rules, forcing many of us to experience a shift in our daily routines and to carry out our work online. With this in mind, we here at STORAGECafé wanted to take a closer look into which states in the US are best prepared for a digital economy future.

In order to do that, we analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia using 10 metrics of 3 different types, ranging from technological industry and employment factors, to internet connectivity, to personal availability of technology.

Here are a few highlights about New York & New Jersey:

• Overall, New Jersey ranks 4^th and New York ranks 6^th for how well prepared their digital economies are.
• In terms of Technological Industry and Employment, New York ranks 7^th while New Jersey is found in 15^th place.
• New York’s tech economic impact is one of the biggest, placing the state in 3^rd place with $123.4 billion.
• New Jersey ranks 1^st for internet connectivity overall, with 99% broadband coverage, 87% internet users and an internet speed of 52MBps.
• New York ranks 2^nd for internet connectivity, with 97.8% broadband coverage, 82.7% internet users and an internet speed of 45.2MBps.
• At the level of metropolitan areas, New York City Metro ranks 3^rd for tech economic impact with $140.5 billion and 1^st for 2019 est. net tech employment (680,140 people).

According to Chris Nebenzahl from Yardi Matrix, a real estate intelligence service and STORAGECafé’s sister division, “New York City has the strength to overcome this crisis as its economy is diversified. It’s got a strong financial market, that’s true, but the tech sector is strong as well, as well as the retail and services industries. NYC has also got a big community of online workers that were used to remote work. Transitioning to digital economy on a larger scale shouldn’t pose too many difficulties.” However, he also says that “what is most concerning about NYC as opposed to the rest of the state and other places around the country is area density. The fact that it’s got the best and biggest subway system in the country may act against it this once; as with the rest of its great many public spaces, the subway system requires sanitization and monitorization on a constant basis.”

You can find the full report together with expert commentary here: www.storagecafe.com/blog/best-prepared-us-states-for-digital-economy/