How’s this for a headline on a blog post: “Charlotte: Silicon Valley of the South”

So declares the Charlotte Chamber at its website.

Leaders from across the Queen City are gathering today for the Charlotte Chamber’s “Technology Summit” at which it is sharing new jobs data that shows the region is “no doubt … quickly making a name for itself.”

Just last week, AvidXchange announced a huge expansion, adding more than 600 jobs. And anyone who has talked with folks from the Charlotte-Gastonia area about startups know that the entreprenurial community is booming with new hubs and companies – just as in the Triangle.

RTP celebrated its own job-creation machine with 1,200 new positions coming to HCL Technologies in Cary. And the Triangle remains the state’s premier technology hub.

But Charlotte-backers are determined to grow their own IT infrastructure, and the statistics the Chamber compiled do point to growth.

The Chamber does acknowledge, however, that the headline overstates matters.

“Is Charlotte the Silicon Valley of the South? Perhaps not yet, but there is no doubt the region is quickly making a name for itself,” a blog post reads.

“More than 600 jobs were announced this week by one of the country’s fastest growing private technology companies. It is that trajectory that has fueled the local business community’s interest in IT and why the Charlotte Chamber hosts its annual Technology Summit each year.”

Some 37,000 “IT professionals” work in the Charlotte area with some 2,000 jobs added over the last two years, the Chamber says.

But those numbers alone don’t match the total just announced this year for looming employment additions in the Triangle at HCL, Cisco, NetApp and more.

However, let’s not dismiss Charlotte’s growth, Triangle residents. The Chamber breaks down where job growth has been strongest over the past five years:

  • Web Developers: 1,949 jobs, added 479, grew by 33 percent.
  • Information Security Analyst: 1,285 jobs, added 263, grew by 26 percent.
  • Software Developers, Systems: 3,610 jobs, added 631, grew by 21 percent.
  • Computer Systems Analyst: 5,525 jobs, added 946, grew by 21 percent.
  • Software Developers, Applications: 5,386 jobs, added 912, grew by 20 percent.

So here’s a tip of The Skinny’s cap to the Queen City’s technology community – and let’s all hope it continues to grow.

Why not have TWO Silicon Valleys South – with both right here in North Carolina.