A joint report by the National Cryptocurrency Association and the Pragmatic Policy Group, published in July 2026, puts hard numbers on something the industry has long argued anecdotally: crypto employs relatively few people yet moves serious economic weight.

The study, titled 'Crypto at Work', counts 34,000 direct employees at U.S. crypto companies. That is barely more than coffee and tea manufacturing (28,400 jobs) and dwarfs nothing in the broader labor market. But the $55 billion economic contribution projected for 2026 is what grabs attention, and so does the average salary: $133,000 a year, more than double the national median of $64,000 and above typical pay in both tech and manufacturing.

The Multiplier Math

PPG ran a standard input-output model and found that each direct crypto job supports roughly six additional positions elsewhere, at suppliers and at the businesses where crypto workers spend their income. Stack those indirect and induced roles on top and the total reaches 232,000 supported jobs economy-wide. The methodology leans on 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, though PPG flagged one limitation: because no dedicated crypto workforce classification exists yet, it modeled the sector's financial activities using the occupational mix of broader tech industries rather than traditional finance.

Geographically, the picture is uneven. California leads with 57,600 crypto jobs, New York follows at 53,800, and Texas adds 26,500. Together those three states hold 60% of all direct employment. Heartland states, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas combined, support just over 17,000. The report flags Colorado and North Dakota as emerging hubs: Colorado benefits from crypto-friendly tax policy and firms like Riot Platforms and Crusoe Energy, while North Dakota points to flare-gas mining operations and a pilot stablecoin from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.

NCA, which funded the research, said it wants the findings to give policymakers an evidence-based picture of the sector's footprint. The timing is deliberate: with macro conditions shifting and institutional crypto narratives gaining ground, a report quantifying real-economy jobs and wages gives the industry a concrete lobbying anchor beyond price charts.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation.