Top 25 Tech Hubs

• From August 2019 to July 2020, U.S. employers posted some 3.7 million IT jobs online.
• Austin and Houston ranked as the top tech hubs in the U.S. to live and work in.
• Remote tech work has surged during the pandemic.
• In 2019-2020, about 800,000 jobs offered remote work.

Despite record job losses throughout all sectors in 2020, tech positions remain in demand, increasing by 13% from 2020-2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Nationwide, employers listed more than 443,000 job postings in April 2022, according to the trade association CompTia. Employers have posted roughly 1.6 million job postings in 2022, a 40% jump from the previous year. The most in-demand positions include software developers and engineers, information technology project managers, computer support specialists, systems engineers, and network engineers and architects. Although it's useful to know the top tech jobs, you may still be wondering, where are the top tech hubs?

Here we outline the top tech hubs in the U.S., including their cost of living, average salaries, and top tech companies.

What Qualifies as a Tech Hub?

Tech hubs serve as a home base for tech companies. Cities considered the "top tech hubs" have access to trained workers who can fill many tech job openings. Companies such as Apple, Accenture, Boeing, Dell, Deloitte, IBM, Wells Fargo, and Workday need dozens, if not hundreds, of tech employees. They often plant themselves in a large tech hub city to acquire these professionals.

It remains to be seen how tech will change as companies increasingly embrace remote work. About 21% of IT jobs offered remote work from August 2019 to July 2020, an increase of 11% from the previous year, according to the CompTia Tech Town Index 2020.

The top tech hubs mentioned here serve as prime spots for tech startups because of their cost of living compared to the average salaries and the high demand for tech professionals.

Tech Bootcamps for You

Top 25 Tech Hubs

25. Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City may be best known as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the city also has a booming tech sector. The city offers a low cost of living and an average salary of $89,460 for tech jobs. Salt Lake City has become so flushed with tech and venture capital that the nearby city Lehi has been coined "Silicon Slopes."

• Cost of Living: 6% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $89,460
• Top Tech Companies: Quickbase, Atomic Financial, Overstock.com

24. Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, which installed the first Google Fiber Internet service in 2011, serves as the home base for a growing number of tech companies. Kansas City employs over 1 million nonfarm employees. Roughly 16,300 people worked in information technology as of May 2021, according to the BLS. Tech jobs in Kansas City have increased 3.8% from March 2021 to 2022.

• Cost of Living: 0% more or less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $87,020
• Top Tech Companies: Main Street Data, PayIt, Sickweather

23. Minneapolis, Minnesota

Roughly 2.7 million people work in Minnesota, with 84,970 workers in computer and mathematical jobs as of May 2021. Most tech workers, about 32,480, work as computer programmers. The second-highest concentration of tech employees (12,840) work as computer systems analysts.

• Cost of Living: 5% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $99,530
• Top Tech Companies: Zipnosis, MentorMate, Ceridian

22. Cincinnati, Ohio

The city that became the first to hold industrial exhibitions in 1870 now serves as a home for major tech companies, including Amazon. About 32,570 people worked in computer and mathematical occupations in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2021. Cincinnati's tech workers mostly work as software developers, network and computer systems administrators, and software quality assurance analysts and testers.

• Cost of Living: 8% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $86,260
• Top Tech Companies: Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys

21. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — home of the Liberty Bell and the first general-purpose computer, which weighed 27 pounds and cost $487,000 — has a growing tech sector. The state that welcomed Comcast in 2018 with the opening of the Comcast Technology Center employed about 89,260 people in computer and mathematical jobs in 2021.

• Cost of Living: 17% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $106,730
• Top Tech Companies: Carpenter Technology, ChargeItSpot, Comcast

20. Trenton, New Jersey

The capital of New Jersey, which once served as a manufacturing leader in the 1920s, employed some 10,840 people in computer and mathematical occupations in 2021. The state's location near Philadelphia and New York makes it a major draw. Most tech workers — about 3,330 hold jobs as software developers, another 1,310 work as computer user support specialists, and 1,140 work as computer systems analysts. Employers here need more software and app developers and computer systems analysts.

• Cost of Living: 19.8% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $103,420
• Top Tech Companies: Bank of America, EPAM Systems, Sharp Business Systems, Tyler Technologies

19. San Diego, California

Did you know that San Diego and Carlsbad rank among the top 10 cities with the highest employment levels for computer and information research scientists? Advertising campaigns lured Silicon Valley's tech to the Southern California city, dubbed "Silicon Beach." San Diego employed 55,750 people in computer and mathematical jobs as of May 2021, including some 980 computer and information research scientists.

• Cost of Living: 44% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $114,800
• Top Tech Companies: Qualcomm, Teradata, Zovio

18. Madison, Wisconsin

Named after President James Madison, the second-largest city in Wisconsin added 2,084 jobs from 2018-2019. About 21,160 people worked in computer and mathematical jobs in 2021. Most tech workers (some 2,570) worked as computer systems analysts. The other top employment tech positions include software developers, computer user support specialists, and computer systems analysts.

• Cost of Living: 2% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $85,130
• Top Tech Companies: Epic Systems, Fetch Rewards, ServiceNow, Analytics8

17. Baltimore, Maryland

Some 585,700 people reside in Baltimore, Maryland — the city where Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem. Another 1.25 million live in Maryland's cities of Baltimore, Columbia, and Towson, where about 65,320 people worked in computer and mathematical occupations in 2021. Most tech workers have careers as software developers, computer systems analysts, computer user support specialists, and information security analysts.

• Cost of Living: 17% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $112,700
• Top Tech Companies: Catalyte, Whitebox, ZeroFOX

16. Boston, Massachusetts

Between 2020-2021, salaries for tech workers in Boston, Massachusetts increased by 3.5%. Jobs also grew for information technology workers in Boston from 2021-2022 by 4.1%. Overall, Boston's diverse workforce grew by 126,800 from 2021-2022. A total of 131,990 people worked in tech in 2021, including 55,690 software developers, 13,960 computer user support specialists, and 12,500 computer systems analysts.

• Cost of Living: 48% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $114,960
• Top Tech Companies: Acquia, Alteryx, ASICS Digital

15. Colorado Springs, Colorado

More than 140 information technology companies and 125 cybersecurity companies have offices in Colorado Springs. Roughly 15,360 people worked in computer and mathematical positions in Colorado Springs in 2021 — a city with a growing tech industry. From 2020 to 2025, tech jobs should grow by 6% in the area. As of 2021, software developers held the most positions in the state, with 4,570 jobs. Another 2,030 worked as computer user support specialists and 1,370 as computer systems analysts.

• Cost of Living: 6% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $99,090
• Top Tech Companies: BombBomb, Formstack, Altia

14. Columbus, Ohio

It makes sense that Columbus, Ohio has become a tech hub since about 60% of the people in the country — or 185 million people — live within 600 miles of the city. All nonfarm positions in Columbus increased from 2.7% during 2021-2022, while information technology grew by 8.6%..

• Cost of Living: 10% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $86,380
• Top Tech Companies: Immuta, Pumpkin, JPMorgan Chase

13. Durham, North Carolina

Durham-Chapel Hill has drawn tech talent since 1965, when IBM moved to the city. About 21,780 people worked in computer and mathematical jobs in Durham-Chapel Hill in 2021, and in the next five years, employers will only increase tech positions by 4%. From 2019-2020, employers advertised 22,124 information technology jobs, a jump of more than 3,500 from 2019.

• Cost of Living: 11% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $107,090
• Top Tech Companies: IBM, Celonis, Q2, Three Ships Media

12. Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado — named the Happiest City in America by National Geographic in 2018 —boasts a total population of about 329,540. Roughly 14,170 people held positions in tech as of 2021. Tech giants such as Google and Twitter have made the city home. Most tech workers hold positions as software developers, computer user support specialists, and network and computer systems administrators.

• Cost of Living: 67.4% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $109,780
• Top Tech Companies: TextUs, Fanatics, MojoTech

11. Washington, D.C.

Made up of 68 square miles, the nation's capital boasts a population of 670,050. About 49,000 people worked in tech as of May 2021. Cybersecurity remains the second biggest sector after the government. Washington, D.C.'s highest concentration of tech jobs includes software developers, computer user support specialists, computer systems analysts, and information security analysts.

• Cost of Living: 39% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $112,700
• Top Tech Companies: Amazon, EVERFI, LivingSocial, Arcadia

10. Denver, Colorado

Tech companies such as RingCentral, Zoom, and ENAVATE found offices in Denver, Colorado. The city that has an average of 245 days of sunshine also boasted a tech workforce of about 78,420 in May 2021. Tech workers mostly hold positions as software developers, computer user support specialists, computer network architects, information security analysts, and software quality assurance analysts and testers. From 2020-2025, information technology jobs are estimated to grow by 12%.

• Cost of Living: 12% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $114,100
• Top Tech Companies: Arrow Electronics, Xero, Ciber

9. Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama — incorporated in 1811 — boasts a total population of 215,006. This southern city's technology industry has been fueled by its relatively low cost of living and military operations, with Lockheed Martin and Leidos based in the area. Some 16,660 worked in computer and mathematical jobs in 2021. Information technology positions will increase by 8% from 2020-2025.

• Cost of Living: 5% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $104,150
• Top Tech Companies: ServiceNow, Logic20/20, Inc., Boeing

8. Atlanta, Georgia

Tech companies such as Urjanet, Fiserv, and Secureworks have offices in Atlanta, Georgia — the city with the busiest airport in the world and a new nickname: "The Silicon Valley of the South." The city has a population of about 498,720, with 112,520 working in computer and mathematical positions as of May 2021. Atlanta Tech Village alone has helped kick start 300 startups. In 2021, about 36,080 people worked as software developers, 14,600 as computer user support specialists, 10,730 as computer systems analysts, and 4,020 as information security analysts.

• Cost of Living: 1% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $107,520
• Top Tech Companies: AptAmigo, Convoy, Mailchimp

7. San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California has long served as the home base for major tech companies. Many top companies in San Fran need tech employees, including Amazon, Facebook, Wells Fargo, and Deloitte. About 161,110 people work in tech in San Francisco, with some 64,460 working as software developers as of May 2021. Although this city dropped from the number five spot in 2021, jobs will continue to increase by 13% from 2020-2025.

• Cost of Living: 80% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $145,000
• Top Tech Companies: Google, Netflix, Slack, LinkedIn

6. Seattle, Washington

Seattle may be best known as the birthplace of Starbucks, but the city also has a fast-expanding tech sector. Amazon and Microsoft have established their presence in Seattle, and other tech companies such as Salesforce, Google, and Apple will continue to expand. About 2.0 million people work in Seattle, including 160,660 who have careers in information technology. The field has grown by 8.5% from 2021-2022. The BLS projects that tech will increase by 11% through 2025.

• Cost of Living: 49% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $118,730
• Top Tech Companies: Amazon, Tableau, Cray

5. Charlotte, North Carolina

Tech companies such as IBM and Microsoft have found outposts in Charlotte, North Carolina — a town that has long been a banking mecca. The tech jobs with the most employees in Charlotte include software developers, computer systems analysts, and network and computer systems administrators. According to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, the city has seen a 68% increase in tech workers in the last 10 years. Tech positions are projected to increase by 8% through 2025.

• Cost of Living: 5% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $100,690
• Top Tech Companies: Red Ventures, Credit Karma, Lending Tree

4. San Jose, California

The Bay Area has long been a stronghold for tech companies, but the pandemic allowed more workers to work from home. San Jose — relatively cheaper than San Francisco — serves as headquarters for tech companies such as eBay, PayPal, Verifone, and Western Digital. The tech industry in San Jose employed some 140,460 people in May 2021. Most work as software developers, software quality assurance analysts and testers, computer systems analysts, and computer user support specialists. Jobs in San Jose should grow by 11% through 2025.

• Cost of Living: 49% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $153,640
• Top Tech Companies: Adobe, Sage Intacct, Calyx Software

3. Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina boasts two tech hubs: Durham and Raleigh. Tech has grown in Raleigh due to its affordability and a large pool of tech talent, thanks to many universities and schools in the region. Tech workers in Raleigh have seen a 4.2% wage increase from 2020-2021. Most tech workers have careers as software developers, computer systems analysts, computer user support specialists, and software quality assurance analysts and testers.

• Cost of Living: 5% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $102,380
• Top Tech Companies: ServiceNow, BitSight Technologies, Adwerx

2. Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas boasts a population of 1.3 million, making it the third-largest city in Texas. This tech hub has its roots in web, mobile application, and software development. About 157,650 people worked in tech in May 2021, with 42,880 workers in software development and 19,670 in computer systems analysis. The population grew from 1.1 million in 2010, and salaries in Dallas have also increased from 2020-2021.

• Cost of Living: 2% more than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $106,110
• Top Tech Companies: Capital One, Bestow, TeamSupport, ServiceNow

1. Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas nabbed the No. 1 spot as the tech hub in the nation. The city —with wages increasing by 4.6% from 2020-2021 — offers tech workers a six-figure average salary. About 48,500 people worked in information technology as of 2022, out of 1.2 million nonfarm workers. Austin's comparatively affordability and low state taxes have lured tech companies and venture funding. Startups in the city raised $1.84 billion in 2019, an increase of 19.5% from 2018.

• Cost of Living: 3% less than the national average
• Average Tech Job Salary: $109,180
• Top Tech Companies: AMD, Adobe, Amazon, Apple

Frequently Asked Questions About the Top Tech Hubs