Well-known tech hubs like San Francisco may get all the press, but if you’re looking for a job at a hot start-up be aware that there are cities all across the country where tech employment is growing faster than in Silicon Valley.
These are the 20 fastest growing tech job markets in the U.S. They all have tons of new jobs, a lower cost of living, and less competition from other applicants, which make them great places to start your tech career – or to set down roots if you’re mid-career.
1. Huntsville, AL
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 309%
Top tech jobs:
- Software Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- Systems Specialist
- Help Desk Support
- Information Technology Specialist
Early Career Median Pay: $59,500
Mid-Career Median Pay: $96,400
Median rent: $950
Median home price: $152,170
2. Thousand Oaks, CA
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 200%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Network Engineer
- Project Manager Coordinator
- Quality Assurance Specialist
- Software Test Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $59,500
Mid-Career Median Pay: $105,000
Median rent: $3,200
Median home price: $673,000
3. Phoenix, AZ
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 188%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Software Developer
- Data Analyst
- SQL Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $58,400
Mid-Career Median Pay: $96,800
Median rent: $1,345
Median home price: $216,000
4. Albany, NY
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 161%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- SQL Developer
- ERP Engineer
- Software Developer
- Software Tester
Early Career Median Pay: $55,200
Mid-Career Median Pay: $87,000
Median rent: $1,625
Median home price: $175,000
5. Kansas City, MO
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 157%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Network Engineer
- Project Coordinator
- Developer
- Web Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $57,200
Mid-Career Median Pay: $89,500
Median rent: $895
Median home price: $207,107
6. Orlando, FL
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 149%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Project Engineer
- Network Engineer
- Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $52,800
Mid-Career Median Pay: $87,400
Median rent: $1,500
Median home price: $210,000
7. Salt Lake City, UT
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 117%
Top tech jobs:
- Software Engineer
- Project Manager
- Developer
- Project Engineer
- Technical Support Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $58,200
Mid-Career Median Pay: $97,800
Median rent: $1,495
Median home price: $533,800
8. Nashville, TN
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 114%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Senior Net Developer
- Network Administrator
- Project Engineer
- Desktop Support Technician
Early Career Median Pay: $54,700
Mid-Career Median Pay: $90,200
Median rent: $1,700
Median home price: $269,700
9. Jacksonville, FL
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 111%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- System Administrator
- Systems Engineer
- Desktop Support Technician
- Implementation Consultant
Early Career Median Pay: $52,000
Mid-Career Median Pay: $89,200
Median rent: $1,200
Median home price: $170,000
10. Baltimore, MD
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 109%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Network Engineer
- System Administrator
- Software Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $62,500
Mid-Career Median Pay: $105,000
Median rent: $1,375
Median home price: $196,900
11. Cincinnati, OH
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 96%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Quality Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Lead Applications Developer
- Scrum Master
Early Career Median Pay: $55,500
Mid-Career Median Pay: $90,400
Median rent: $1,095
Median home price: $137,500
12. Cleveland, OH
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.3%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Quality Engineer
- Developer
- Quality Technician
- Software Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $52,100
Mid-Career Median Pay: $86,700
Median rent: $1,000
Median home price: $75,000
13. Indianapolis, IN
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.1%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Quality Technician
- Quality Engineer
- Data Analyst
- Net Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $55,400
Mid-Career Median Pay: $89,400
Median rent: $1,000
Median home price: $180,715
14. Columbus, OH
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 83%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Network Engineer
- Quality Engineer
- Application Developer
- Java Developer
Early Career Median Pay: $56,600
Mid-Career Median Pay: $93,400
Median rent: $1,045
Median home price: $139,600
15. Denver, CO
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.4%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Network Engineer
- Developer
- Software Engineer
- Systems Administrator
Early Career Median Pay: $62,300
Mid-Career Median Pay: $103,000
Median rent: $2,100
Median home price: $372,500
16. Detroit, MI
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.1%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Quality Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- Application Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $59,600
Mid-Career Median Pay: $94,400
Median rent: $750
Median home price: $57,000
17. Tampa, FL
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 80.9%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Systems Administrator
- Project Coordinator
- Data Analyst
- Network Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $52,700
Mid-Career Median Pay: $90,600
Median rent: $1,495
Median home price: $202,750
18. Providence, RI
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 79%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Senior Net Developer
- Business Information Analyst
- Quality Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $55,400
Mid-Career Median Pay: $90,500
Median rent: $1,800
Median home price: $194,250
19. Seattle, WA
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.9%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Software Engineer
- Software Development Engineer
- Developer
- Technical Services
Early Career Median Pay: $76,200
Mid-Career Median Pay: $117,000
Median rent: $2,700
Median home price: $620,000
20. Chicago, IL
Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.1%
Top tech jobs:
- Project Manager
- Quality Engineer
- Network Engineer
- Devops Engineer
- Software Engineer
Early Career Median Pay: $62,200
Mid-Career Median Pay: $102,000
Median rent: $1,750
Median home price: $270,000
Methodology
To find the fastest-growing tech job markets in the U.S. in 2017, we queried ZipRecruiter’s database of over 8 million active jobs across the United States to look at the following:
- Year over year growth in Tech jobs by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)*
- The top jobs in Tech by MSA
We then ranked the top 20 MSAs by their growth rate in tech jobs from 2016-2017, and included the following:
- The top 5 tech jobs in each MSA.
- The median salaries for early and mid-career tech workers in each MSA (via PayScale),
- Median rents and home sales prices for each MSA (via Trulia).
*A geographic entity delineated by the Office of Management and Budget for use by federal statistical agencies. Metropolitan statistical areas consist of the county or counties (or equivalent entities) associated with at least one urbanized area of at least 50,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties. (via Census.gov)
Salary data via PayScale:
Copyright PayScale 2017
PayScale presents median effective annual income for tech jobs in the highest growth tech cities. We identify tech jobs using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the Standard Occupation Classification System (SOC). We provide data for both early career and mid-career employees.
Definitions
Effective Annual Compensation (EAC): Combines base annual salary (or hourly wage), commissions, tips, bonuses, and profit sharing. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or value of other non-cash benefits (e.g., healthcare).
Median Pay: The median EAC for workers.
Early Career Employees: Workers with 0-5 years of experience.
Mid-Career Employees: Workers with 10+ years of experience.
About PayScale:
PayScale offers modern compensation software and real-time, data-driven insights for employees and employers alike. More than 6,000 customers, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, use PayScale to power pay decisions for more than 13 million employees. These companies include Dish Network, Getty Images, Skullcandy, Bloomberg BNA and Time Warner. For more information, please visit: http://www.payscale.com or follow PayScale on Twitter: http://twitter.com/payscale
