Developers run this world. They are responsible for building the apps on your phone, the social media platform you constantly check and the Web that you browse. So it seems only natural the field of Web development is quickly becoming one of the highest paid and well-respected careers in America.

The gleam of Silicon Valley has drawn thousands of smart, young professionals into the industry. California has more than double the number of developers as the second-highest state (sorry, Texas), but the tech industry isn't isolated along the Pacific Coast anymore. New York, Chicago, Boston and Miami all have thriving tech industries. The animated cartograph below shows how the United States would look if a state's area was determined by developer population. The map was generated by Lucidworks using the latest occupational statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor.

In Washington state, thanks to tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, one of every 35 employed people is a developer. That gives the Evergreen State the honor of having the highest developer per capita ratio with 28.74 hired developers per 1,000 jobs. At $109,244 a year, Washington is also the state with the highest average annual salary.

For more insights into the development industry take a look at the full graphic by Lucidworks:

Photo: Lucidworks/ Column Five

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