EdgyLabs
Top 9 U.S. Cities Creating Most Tech Jobs
By: Zayan Guedim
Tech industry in the U.S. is an immense part of the workforce. Startups and tech companies have the most economic impact, i.e. generating the most jobs, in these top 9 U.S. cities.
Forbes recruited the expertise of Praxis Strategy Group to analyze the employment data and growth rates of the tech industry in the 53 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. over the last decade (2006 to 2016).
Forbes and Praxis compiled the list of cities according to certain metrics, with job creation being one of them. We have rearranged the list so that cities are ranked, from bottom to top, according to the total number of new tech jobs generated in 2016. (Growth rates below cover the period from 2006 to 2016, and job numbers are for 2016 alone).
The Top 9 U.S. Cities for Creating Tech Jobs:
9. Nashville, Tennessee:
Nashville is consolidating its status as a dynamic tech city. Tech industry in the city grew by 75.6%, and generated about 20,800 new tech jobs, mainly in jobs in systems design (3,700 jobs), data processing (1,800), and engineering services (1,100).
8. Indianapolis, Indiana:
Indianapolis’ tech industry, driven by internet-based businesses, grew by over 68%. 30,600 new tech jobs were created, with 8,100 jobs in custom programming and systems design.
7. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina:
The Raleigh-Durham area is fast-growing tech scene in the country. High-caliber companies and startups generated 39,000 new tech-related jobs, and the high-tech industry as a whole in the area registered a growth rate of about 50%.
6. Austin, Texas:
With a thriving startup activity, Austin is one of the top tech cities in the country. The city’s tech industry registered an impressive 76.6% growth and about 60,000 new tech jobs created just last year.
5. Charlotte Metropolitan Area, North Carolina:
With 62.1% growth rate, tech industry in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area is up and coming. Although associated with banking more than tech, the area saw the generation of 62,600 new jobs in the tech sector.
4. Denver, Colorado:
The Front Range Urban Corridor, home to the Denver-Boulder area, is an active tech hub that has been dubbed the next Silicon Valley. Within the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, tech industry jobs grew by 40.3%, creating over 79,000 tech jobs.
Detroit created twice as many tech jobs as Austin, Texas through 2016.
3. Detroit, Michigan:
Surprise! Industries, mainly the auto industry, the government and research centers converge to bring the Motor City back to its former glory. While the central Detroit economy is still struggling, the metropolitan area maintained a tech-oriented spirit. Over the last decade, the area saw a 26% growth in the high-tech industry, creating over 127,000 new tech jobs.
2. Seattle, Washington:
In Seattle, an already established high-tech center, the industry generated 145,000 tech jobs, growing by 47,7 %. Due to its more affordable housing, Seattle is attracting young tech talent from Silicon Valley.
1. San Francisco Bay Area:
Out of the Top 9 U.S. Cities for tech jobs, you might assume San Fran would be sitting at the top.
With a staggering 90% growth (2006-2016) and 220,000 new tech jobs (2016), the cradle of Silicon Valley is still concentrating most of the country’s high-tech activity and the tech industry’s top players. But this might be slowly changing, as employment growth in information technology sector is dropping, and tech companies plan to cut thousands of jobs in the first trimester of 2017. It’s estimated that in 2015, 7,500 more Americans left the area than arrived. That has something to do with the emergence of new tech hubs like the metro areas mentioned above, and the soaring housing costs in the San Francisco area.
