◆ VE LabField Dispatch № 04
Vol. I · Iss. 4Refreshed 2026-06-07freeintelligence.ai ↗

America's innovation clusters, re-ranked.

VE Lab Innovation Cluster Index, refreshed weekly. A dispatch from the desk on where federal R&D capital, private-sector employment density, and silicon-belt corporate gravity are actually compounding — measured, not asserted.

Metros covered
25
Sourced dimensions
4 / 8
Refresh cadence
Weekly
Composite weights
40 / 35 / 25
Grants · Talent · Patents
Sources →BLS QCEW· Anchors · MixUSAspending· GrantsChipmonk· Forward signal2018 USPTO· Patents · legacy
◆ The Editor's Selection

Five surprises

What the numbers actually say, before the matrix.

  1. 1

    Rank 2 is Navy patents

    Bremerton-Silverdale, WA isn't a tech hub — it's the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. ~14,000 federal civilians and military filing submarine/undersea-warfare patents from a 260K population base. Zero VC, zero accelerators, zero civilian flywheel.

  2. 2

    Seattle's AI paradox

    Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI all have major Seattle presence. Yet Seattle had zero top-100 AI funding deals in 2025. The next wave is being captured by FAANG-class balance sheets, not local founders.

  3. 3

    Boise is an AI-infra play

    Rank 23, easy to dismiss. But Micron's HBM stack is sold out through 2026, FY25 revenue grew 50% to $37.4B, and the Idaho megafab is pulled forward to 2027. Most asymmetric AI exposure outside SF.

  4. 4

    The Triangle compounds

    Raleigh-Cary (17) + Durham-Chapel Hill (21) is the only tier-2 metro firing on all three dimensions — Duke + NC State + UNC + Epic + Pendo + Teamworks (2025 unicorn). The mid-table sleeper.

  5. 5

    Single-anchor patent factories

    Columbus IN = Cummins. Burlington VT = GlobalFoundries + BETA. Ithaca = Cornell. Trenton = Princeton + BMS. High per-capita patents, ~zero founder density — the metric flatters towns where one institution does all the work.

◆ The Matrix

Twenty-five dispatches

Ranked by composite cluster-velocity. Click any metro to expand.

Patents / 100k
260.2
Total patents
9K
Population
319K
Bachelor's deg.
63.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

163K private jobs at an average $100K per year. Top sector: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (21.2%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$3,960.46M in federal R&D across 2125 awards. Universities: $3,472.47M · Business: $487.99M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Google Boulder$GOOGLMicrosoft Boulder$MSFT
Patents / 100k
134.9
Total patents
34K
Population
2.0M
Bachelor's deg.
44.8%
Anchors
■ sourced

1.1M private jobs at an average $92K per year. Top sector: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (13.8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$200,607.67M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $2,108.9M · Business: $198,498.78M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
■ sourced
  • · ORACLE: **This Week in ORACLE**
  • · CORE SCIENTIFIC: **This Week in CORE-SCIENTIFIC**
  • · T1 ENERGY: T1 Energy surged 20% following remarks by industry analyst Aschenbrenner, signaling renewed investor confidence in the company's positioning within energy infrastructure. The gain mirror…
chipmonk.exe.xyz /api/trackers · 2026-06-07
Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Dell$DELLTesla$TSLAOracle$ORCLIBM$IBM
Patents / 100k
218.7
Total patents
8K
Population
359K
Bachelor's deg.
54.5%
Anchors
■ sourced

134K private jobs at an average $72K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (21.2%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$9,706.08M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $6,752.55M · Business: $2,953.53M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
145.9
Total patents
6K
Population
371K
Bachelor's deg.
43.9%
Anchors
■ sourced

186K private jobs at an average $93K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (15.4%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Administrative & Waste Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$90,165.67M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $1,003.23M · Business: $89,162.44M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Google Boulder$GOOGLMicrosoft Boulder$MSFT
Patents / 100k
109.9
Total patents
7K
Population
552K
Bachelor's deg.
46.9%
Anchors
■ sourced

278K private jobs at an average $92K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (17.9%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Educational Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$15,836.93M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $10,784.38M · Business: $5,052.55M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
209.0
Total patents
90K
Population
4.7M
Bachelor's deg.
49.3%
Anchors
■ sourced

2.1M private jobs at an average $139K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (16.8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$20,250.7M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $8,271.58M · Business: $11,979.12M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Apple$AAPLAlphabet / Google$GOOGLMeta$METASalesforce$CRMUber$UBERBlock / Square$SQDoorDash$DASHAirbnb$ABNB
Patents / 100k
124.6
Total patents
63K
Population
4.8M
Bachelor's deg.
47.6%
Anchors
■ sourced

2.4M private jobs at an average $106K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (19.1%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$86,032.37M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $6,508.43M · Business: $79,523.94M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Biogen$BIIBModerna$MRNAHubSpot$HUBSToast$TOSTDraftKings$DKNG
Patents / 100k
123.6
Total patents
11K
Population
882K
Bachelor's deg.
37.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

351K private jobs at an average $72K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (18.4%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$344,506.56M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $444.8M · Business: $344,061.75M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
165.5
Total patents
45K
Population
3.3M
Bachelor's deg.
38.8%
Anchors
■ sourced

1.3M private jobs at an average $81K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (17.2%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$13,950.03M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $6,228.06M · Business: $7,721.97M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
■ sourced
  • · QUALCOMM: Qualcomm executives signaled strategic positioning in emerging compute categories this week. Leadership outlined a phased robotics market entry, rejecting near-term mass-market deployment…
chipmonk.exe.xyz /api/trackers · 2026-06-07
Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Qualcomm$QCOMIllumina$ILMNDexcom$DXCM
Patents / 100k
154.2
Total patents
3K
Population
88K
Bachelor's deg.
53.8%
Anchors
■ sourced

29K private jobs at an average $62K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (23.5%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$1,553.58M in federal R&D across 959 awards. Universities: $1,471.08M · Business: $82.51M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
133.4
Total patents
2K
Population
105K
Bachelor's deg.
52.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

42K private jobs at an average $70K per year. Top sector: Accommodation & Food Services (8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Accommodation & Food Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Other Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$2,051.99M in federal R&D across 1560 awards. Universities: $1,862.49M · Business: $189.5M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
126.9
Total patents
44K
Population
3.7M
Bachelor's deg.
41.9%
Anchors
■ sourced

1.8M private jobs at an average $118K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (14.3%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$18,589.02M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $6,056.23M · Business: $12,532.79M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Amazon$AMZNMicrosoft$MSFTBoeing$BACostco$COSTStarbucks$SBUXT-Mobile$TMUSZillow$Z
Patents / 100k
348.7
Total patents
7K
Population
260K
Bachelor's deg.
33.5%
Anchors
■ sourced

59K private jobs at an average $61K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (21.5%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$552.07M in federal R&D across 158 awards. Universities: $0.47M · Business: $551.59M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

$0.0B across 2 deals (2020–25).

Talent supply
† Moderate

STEM 18% · 800 degrees/yr · median tech wage $95K.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Federal labs
PSSNS · NUWC Keyport
Top R&D university
UW Tacoma
Patents / 100k
263.7
Total patents
6K
Population
214K
Bachelor's deg.
39.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

110K private jobs at an average $76K per year. Top sector: Accommodation & Food Services (8.8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Accommodation & Food Services, Construction, Other Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$2,603.27M in federal R&D across 830 awards. Universities: $2.76M · Business: $2,600.5M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

$0.4B across 35 deals (2020–25). · Unicorns: Calta HealthAccelerators: Mayo Ventures

Talent supply
† Moderate

STEM 19.5% · 2200 degrees/yr · median tech wage $102K.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Federal labs
Mayo Cancer Center NCI
Top R&D university
UMN Rochester · $1200M · #18 NCSES
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Amazon$AMZNMicrosoft$MSFTBoeing$BACostco$COSTStarbucks$SBUXT-Mobile$TMUSZillow$Z
Patents / 100k
117.5
Total patents
6K
Population
334K
Bachelor's deg.
47.9%
Anchors
■ sourced

136K private jobs at an average $70K per year. Top sector: Accommodation & Food Services (14.1%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Accommodation & Food Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$2,448.05M in federal R&D across 1511 awards. Universities: $2,103.37M · Business: $344.68M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Biogen$BIIBModerna$MRNAHubSpot$HUBSToast$TOSTDraftKings$DKNG
Patents / 100k
120.5
Total patents
16K
Population
1.3M
Bachelor's deg.
46.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

630K private jobs at an average $76K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (13.8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Administrative & Waste Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$118,077.99M in federal R&D across 3000 awards. Universities: $1,349.12M · Business: $116,728.88M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Strong

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Epic Games(private)
Patents / 100k
247.3
Total patents
7K
Population
274K
Bachelor's deg.
40.2%
Anchors
■ sourced

86K private jobs at an average $64K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (19.7%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$883.91M in federal R&D across 616 awards. Universities: $541.26M · Business: $342.65M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Epic Games(private)
Patents / 100k
169.4
Total patents
6K
Population
217K
Bachelor's deg.
43%
Anchors
■ sourced

101K private jobs at an average $71K per year. Top sector: Accommodation & Food Services (9.7%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Accommodation & Food Services, Construction, Other Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$1,087.23M in federal R&D across 619 awards. Universities: $766.64M · Business: $320.6M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
106.8
Total patents
19K
Population
676K
Bachelor's deg.
30.1%
Anchors
■ sourced

336K private jobs at an average $66K per year. Top sector: Construction (10.1%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Construction, Accommodation & Food Services, Finance & Insurance.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$17,997.5M in federal R&D across 1795 awards. Universities: $223.74M · Business: $17,773.76M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
■ sourced
  • · MICRON: **This Week in MICRON**
chipmonk.exe.xyz /api/trackers · 2026-06-07
Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Micron$MUClearwater Analytics$CWAN
Patents / 100k
739.5
Total patents
143K
Population
1.8M
Bachelor's deg.
50.8%
Anchors
■ sourced

1.0M private jobs at an average $204K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (14.8%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Information, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$1,869.68M in federal R&D across 671 awards. Universities: $279.19M · Business: $1,590.49M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
■ sourced
  • · AMD: **This Week in AMD**
  • · NVIDIA: **This Week in NVIDIA**
  • · INTEL: Intel's foundry unit advanced 18A process readiness while CEO Tan repositioned TSMC as strategic partner rather than competitor, signaling pragmatic capacity strategy. Supply tightness in la…
chipmonk.exe.xyz /api/trackers · 2026-06-07
Startups & VC
† Strong

$89.0B across 1240 deals (2020–25). · Unicorns: Databricks, Zoom, ServiceNowAccelerators: SkyDeck, 500

Talent supply
† Strong

STEM 24.5% · 18500 degrees/yr · median tech wage $165K.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Federal labs
NASA Ames · SLAC
Top R&D university
Stanford · $1720M · #6 NCSES
Fortune 500 HQ
Apple · Alphabet · Meta · Cisco · Tesla
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Apple$AAPLAlphabet / Google$GOOGLNvidia$NVDAAdobe$ADBECisco$CSCO
Patents / 100k
112.5
Total patents
20K
Population
1.1M
Bachelor's deg.
34.1%
Anchors
■ sourced

424K private jobs at an average $65K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (20.6%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Educational Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$2,987.75M in federal R&D across 1591 awards. Universities: $2,221.34M · Business: $766.41M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
Paychex$PAYXEastman Kodak$KODK
Patents / 100k
112.1
Total patents
816
Population
81K
Bachelor's deg.
35.1%
Anchors
■ sourced

44K private jobs at an average $76K per year. Top sector: Health Care & Social Assistance (10.3%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services, Administrative & Waste Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$158.54M in federal R&D across 91 awards. Universities: $0M · Business: $158.54M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Patents / 100k
105.2
Total patents
4K
Population
445K
Bachelor's deg.
35.2%
Anchors
† Strong

Data pending.

Industry mix
† Moderate

Data pending.

Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$1,239.06M in federal R&D across 829 awards. Universities: $797.9M · Business: $441.16M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Moderate

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
AppFolio$APPFSonos$SONOProcore$PCOR
Patents / 100k
108.8
Total patents
3K
Population
377K
Bachelor's deg.
30%
Anchors
■ sourced

147K private jobs at an average $70K per year. Top sector: Construction (5.6%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Construction, Other Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$255.32M in federal R&D across 181 awards. Universities: $5.73M · Business: $249.59M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD
Linked public companies — ve-stock
AppFolio$APPFSonos$SONOProcore$PCOR
Patents / 100k
98.2
Total patents
3K
Population
285K
Bachelor's deg.
27.5%
Anchors
■ sourced

100K private jobs at an average $67K per year. Top sector: Construction (13.4%).

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Industry mix
■ sourced

Concentrated in Construction, Health Care & Social Assistance, Accommodation & Food Services.

BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages · 2026-06-07
Federal R&D inflow
■ sourced

$148.08M in federal R&D across 105 awards. Universities: $29.68M · Business: $118.4M.

USAspending.gov /api/v2/search/spending_by_award/ · 2026-06-07
Forward signal
○ pending

No tracked silicon/AI-infra HQ in this metro.

Startups & VC
† Thin

Data pending.

Talent supply
† Moderate

Data pending.

Quality of place
○ pending

Live signals coming.

Institutions
Top R&D university
TBD

Set in Fraunces and JetBrains Mono.
Composite cluster-velocity index. Build pipeline on Shakti, push to ve-stock. Refresh Sunday 06:00 UTC.