Joint Venture Silicon Valley

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Joint Venture Silicon Valley

Established in 1993, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network provides analysis on regional issues.

08/24/2026

How much does it cost to outfit a child for school in 2026? Nationally, parents expect to spend an average of $885 per child on back-to-school purchases including clothing, technology, books, school supplies, and equipment or fees. School supplies alone are expected to cost about $118 per student nationally — an increase of approximately 8% from last year.

What does this mean for Silicon Valley families, who are facing some of the highest costs in the nation? Are your school costs feeling increasingly out of reach?

Read the report and weigh in below: https://jointventure.org/blog/2831-back-to-school-season-returns-so-do-the-costs

08/21/2026

Understanding today's school finance system starts with understanding yesterday's policy choices.

Writing for Joint Venture Silicon Valley, historian T. F. Tierney traces how more than a century of decisions about school district organization and finance continue to shape public education across the region.

Read the analysis: jointventure.org/blog/2826-where-you-live-where-you-learn

What other aspects of Silicon Valley's civic landscape do you think people assume "just happened," but actually have a long policy history?

08/20/2026

How is Silicon Valley’s labor market faring after the pandemic?

At 3.9% unemployment, Silicon Valley is enjoying a period of stability after the volatile years, when unemployment swung from a high of 12.6% in April 2020 to a low of 2.2% in May 2022.

After that, annual averages rose gradually, reaching 4.2% in 2025 and easing to 3.8% through the first half of 2026.

Read more: https://jointventure.org/blog/2829-silicon-valley-s-unemployment-rate-at-3-9-as-of-june-with-significant-job-growth-in-healthcare-sector

08/19/2026

Five of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies occupy more than 55 million square feet of commercial space. Space occupied by these tenants has not grown since 2022, after more than quadrupling over the previous nine years, as firms adjust to more remote and hybrid work.

Dig into the data on in : www.siliconvalleyindicators.org/data/economy/commercial-space/tech-company-presence

Stay tuned for next week’s and visit SiliconValleyIndicators.org for more!

08/18/2026

Back-to-school season is here, and with it, the costs. Although California requires schools to provide instructional materials, the requirement does not extend to school supplies or participation in after-school activities.

Locally, organizations such as Sacred Heart Community Service Pack-a-Back program and Family Giving Tree's Back-to-School Drive help provide school supplies and other assistance to families preparing for the new school year. Individuals wishing to support these efforts may also be eligible for federal tax benefits.

What other back-to-school costs are Silicon Valley's families facing? Learn more: https://jointventure.org/blog/2831-back-to-school-season-returns-so-do-the-costs

08/14/2026

Silicon Valley families are facing some of the highest back-to-school costs in the nation — at a time when 65% are saying they have to cut back on groceries or other necessities to make ends meet. Can tax policy be part of the solution?

While more than a dozen states offer back-to-school sales tax holidays on qualifying purchases, California is not among them — and it is not clear that lower-income families would realize substantial benefits.

Read more: https://jointventure.org/blog/2831-back-to-school-season-returns-so-do-the-costs

08/13/2026

Who is benefitting from Silicon Valley’s prosperity? Incomes are high, but the cost of living is higher — and wide income gaps leave many households facing persistent financial pressures.

• Average wages rose to $189,000 in 2025, while median household income grew to $162,800 — nearly double the U.S median.

• Silicon Valley households hold an estimated $1.17 trillion in liquid wealth. The top 10% control 75% of the wealth and the bottom 50% hold less than 1%.

• The region’s concentration of wealth is even more pronounced at the highest levels: Billionaire wealth in Silicon Valley approaches $1.1 trillion.

• Despite high regional incomes, more than 25% of working-age households cannot meet basic needs without assistance, and minimum wage falls short for every household type.

• Demand for food assistance remains high, with more than 310 million meals distributed in 2024–25 across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Explore the 2026 Silicon Valley Index to learn more: jointventure.org/publications/silicon-valley-index

08/12/2026

While the poverty rate for Silicon Valley’s working-age households remains low (6%) compared to California as a whole (11%), more than one-quarter (28%) do not earn enough money to meet their most basic needs without some type of public, private, or informal assistance.

Dig into the data on in : www.siliconvalleyindicators.org/data/economy/income/poverty-status

Stay tuned for next week’s and visit SiliconValleyIndicators.org for more!

08/11/2026

Silicon Valley’s unemployment rate is holding steady at 3.9%, according to June 2026 data, the most recent month available. This rate is among the lowest in the state — slightly higher than in San Francisco, but lower than in California or the United States overall.

June’s numbers are accompanied by strong gains in the healthcare industry, which has added more jobs than any other sector — 22.6% since before the pandemic. Arts, entertainment, and recreation have also seen significant gains, bettering their pre-pandemic position by nearly 11%.

Learn more: jointventure.org/blog/2829-silicon-valley-s-unemployment-rate-at-3-9-as-of-june-with-significant-job-growth-in-healthcare-sector

08/07/2026

Regional coordination: what Silicon Valley can learn from wildfire resilience

Wildfire preparedness offers a broader lesson for regional governance: the biggest challenges cross boundaries and require long-term investment. Preparedness means coordinating across jurisdictions, sharing resources, and taking action long before the crisis comes.

Explore the challenges and opportunities ahead: https://jointventure.org/blog/2825-a-shared-challenge-and-a-regional-response-preparing-santa-clara-county-for-wildfire

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