California is by far the leading state in luring venture capital

California last year attracted more venture capital than any other state, pulling in almost five times as much money as No. 2-ranked Massachusetts.

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Assn. said that California received more than half of the country’s $28 billion in 2011 venture capital investments.

The report was cited Thursday in a blog posted by Dennis Meyers, the principal economist of the California Department of Finance.

Nationally, venture capital investments increased 22% last year compared to 2010. California ventures got $14.5 billion, up 24% from the previous year. The bulk of the money went to Silicon Valley firms.

The infusion of funds was led by software companies, $6.7 billion in 2011. Biotech companies received $4.7 billion in the same period.

Here’s the state-by-state breakdown:

California $14.5 billion

Massachusetts $ 3 billion

New York $2.3 billion

Texas $1.5 billion

Illinois $0.7 billion

Colorado $0.6 billion

Virginia $0.6 billion

Washington $0.5 billion

New Jersey $0.5 billion

Pennsylvania $0.5 billion

RELATED:

Warren Hellman dies at 77: financier, banjo playerUniversities are helping entrepreneurs reach for the sky

Caliifornia leads the nation in green-tech venture capital funding