A new report issued Thursday says the Dayton area is the third fastest-growing metro area in the nation for high-tech jobs.

From 2010 to 2011, the Dayton area saw a 24.2 percent increase in the number of high-tech jobs created, and was the third-largest increase in the United States, behind only Greensboro, N.C. and Columbia, S.C., according to the study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute on behalf of Engine Advocacy, a San Fransisco-based nonprofit that “works to foster innovation and entrepreneuership across the U.S.”

The average growth in technology jobs across the country was 2.6 percent and the average growth for Ohio was 4.6 percent. Dayton added more than 3,500 high-tech jobs during the two-year period.

The study was based on Bureau of Labor Statistics information.

The average salary of a high-tech workers in the Miami Valley was $77,638 per year. In addition, the Dayton area has been one of the highest growth metro areas in the past five years, with a 16 percent increase in high-tech jobs from 2006 to 2011, according to the study.