Best New Cities for Tech Jobs

Best New Cities for Tech Jobs A diaspora of tech talent, driven by Silicon Valley’s tumbling job market and sky-high rents, has pushed tech job seekers to some surprising places. Job search site ZipRecruiter recently analyzed its database of more than 8 million active jobs, and ranked the 20 fastest-growing tech markets based on year-over-year data. Job growth for engineering, software, and IT roles may be losing steam in the Bay Area, but smaller cities are picking up the slack, the company says, Huntsville, Ala. topped the list, with over 300% tech job growth from 2016 to 2017. Thousand Oaks, Calif. (200%) came in second, followed by Phoenix, Ariz. (188%). “The tech industry is no longer bound to the coast,” says ZipRecruiter’s Chief Economic Adviser, Cathy Barrera. “As a result, we’re seeing the tech industry expand out of the major metropolis areas, and into smaller regional cities that have since flown largely under the radar.” Many of the cities on ZipRecruiter’s list are in the Midwest â€" Kansas City, Kan., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. are three standouts. The South also had a strong showing, with Nashville, Tenn. and three cities in Florida (Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa) all making the cut. Barrera credits government policies, like tax breaks that attract entrepreneurs and business startups for much of this growth. But the main impetus, she says, is the skyrocketing cost of living in coastal tech hubs like San Francisco and New York. The median home price of a home in Huntsville hovers around $150,000, according to the report â€" a fraction of the $1.5 million it costs to buy a home in the Bay Area. “Big cities can only grow so much â€" and at a certain point, the skyrocketing living costs make it nearly impossible to find a job with a salary you can live off,” Barrera says. Here’s the full list, complete with average salary (as per PayScale), rent, and home costs: 1. Huntsville, AL Top tech jobs: Software Engineer Systems Engineer Systems Specialist Help Desk Support Information Technology Specialist Growth in tech jobs YoY: 309% Early Career Median Pay: $59,500 Mid Career Median Pay: $96,400 Median rent: $950 Median home price: $152,170 2. Thousand Oaks, CA Top tech jobs: Project Manager Network Engineer Project Manager Coordinator Quality Assurance Specialist Software Test Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 200% Early Career Median Pay: $59,500 Mid Career Median Pay: $105,000 Median rent: $3,200 Median home price: $673,000 3. Phoenix, AZ Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Software Developer Data Analyst SQL Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 188% Early Career Median Pay: $58,400 Mid Career Median Pay: $96,800 Median rent: $1,345 Median home price: $216,000 4. Albany, NY Top tech jobs: Project Manager SQL Developer ERP Engineer Software Developer Software Tester Growth in tech jobs YoY: 161% 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 Top tech jobs: Project Manager Network Engineer Project Coordinator Developer Web Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 157% Early Career Median Pay: $57,200 Mid Career Median Pay: $89,500 Median rent: $895 Median home price: $207,107 6. Orlando, FL Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Project Engineer Network Engineer Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 149% 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 Top tech jobs: Software Engineer Project Manager Developer Project Engineer Technical Support Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 117% Early Career Median Pay: $58,200 Mid Career Median Pay: $97,800 Median rent: $1,495 Median home price: $533,800 8. Nashville, TN Top tech jobs: Project Manager Senior Net Developer Network Administrator Project Engineer Desktop Support Technician Growth in tech jobs YoY: 114% Early Career Median Pay: $54,700 Mid Career Median Pay: $90,200 Median rent: $1,700 Median home price: $269,700 9. Jacksonville, FL Top tech jobs: Project Manager System Administrator Systems Engineer Desktop Support Technician Implementation Consultant Growth in tech jobs YoY: 111% Early Career Median Pay: $52,000 Mid Career Median Pay: $89,200 Median rent: $1,200 Median home price: $170,000 10. Baltimore, MD Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Network Engineer System Administrator Software Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 109% Early Career Median Pay: $62,500 Mid Career Median Pay: $105,000 Median rent: $1,375 Median home price: $196,900 11. Cincinnati, OH Top tech jobs: Project Manager Quality Engineer Software Engineer Lead Applications Developer Scrum Master Growth in tech jobs YoY: 96% Early Career Median Pay: $55,500 Mid Career Median Pay: $90,400 Median rent: $1,095 Median home price: $137,50 12. Cleveland, OH Top tech jobs: Project Manager Quality Engineer Developer Quality Technician Software Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.3% Early Career Median Pay: $52,100 Mid Career Median Pay: $86,700 Median rent: $1,000 Median home price: $75,000 13. Indianapolis, IN Top tech jobs: Project Manager Quality Technician Quality Engineer Data Analyst Net Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 84.1% Early Career Median Pay: $55,400 Mid Career Median Pay: $89,400 Median rent: $1,000 Median home price: $180,715 14. Columbus, OH Top tech jobs: Project Manager Network Engineer Quality Engineer Application Developer Java Developer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 83% Early Career Median Pay: $56,600 Mid Career Median Pay: $93,400 Median rent: $1,045 Median home price: $139,60 15. Denver, CO Top tech jobs: Project Manager Network Engineer Developer Software Engineer Systems Administrator Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.4% Early Career Median Pay: $62,300 Mid Career Median Pay: $103,000 Median rent: $2,100 Median home price: $372,500 16. Detroit, MI Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Quality Engineer Systems Engineer Application Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 81.1% Early Career Median Pay: $59,600 Mid Career Median Pay: $94,400 Median rent: $750 Median home price: $57,000 17. Tampa, FL Top tech jobs: Project Manager Systems Administrator Project Coordinator Data Analyst Network Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 80.9% Early Career Median Pay: $52,700 Mid Career Median Pay: $90,600 Median rent: $1,495 Median home price: $202,750 18. Providence, RI Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Senior Net Developer Business Information Analyst Quality Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 79% Early Career Median Pay: $55,400 Mid Career Median Pay: $90,500 Median rent: $1,800 Median home price: $194,250 19. Seattle, WA Top tech jobs: Project Manager Software Engineer Software Development Engineer Developer Technical Services Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.9% Early Career Median Pay: $76,200 Mid Career Median Pay: $117,000 Median rent: $2,700 Median home price: $620,000 20. Chicago, IL Top tech jobs: Project Manager Quality Engineer Network Engineer Devops Engineer Software Engineer Growth in tech jobs YoY: 74.1% Early Career Median Pay: $62,200 Mid Career Median Pay: $102,000 Median rent: $1,750 Median home price: $270,000