The 10 Best Cities for Tech Jobs

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A group of programmers or tech workers collaborating
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This story originally appeared on Zippia.com.

Are you dreaming of fixing computers or even designing tech for NASA, but not sure where to apply?

While Silicon Valley is a great place to start for the tech job scene, we’ve also found some other developing tech hubs that might suit your lifestyle better.

The Northern California area may have held the tech spotlight for a while, but now the jobs are expanding to other areas of the country. If you are interested in pursuing a tech job, just know that you do have other options.

We ranked over 300 cities on:

  • The increase in tech jobs
  • The overall percentage of tech jobs

We measured tech jobs using information from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey data sets, 2014-2018. We then compared it with the prior dataset to see the growth.

First, we examined the increase in tech jobs to see which cities were seeing the biggest boom. The more rapidly jobs are added, the more likely that opportunities are available and the more desirable you may be in the job market.

We determined the number of residents who have jobs in computer science, engineering and other technical fields. One limitation to the approach is this does look at who lives in a city, and some of these workers may be commuting to other cities for work.

After that, we examined what percentage of workers in a city are tech workers. While growth is great, if a 100% increase is merely an increase from five people to 10, it’s not that impressive. But a stronger tech community is a promising sign for future startups and growth.

Based on our analysis, these cities are the best places to find a growing number of tech jobs.

10. Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell, Massachusetts
Andriy Danylov / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 7.60%
Total tech jobs: 4,239
Five-year tech growth: 53.92%

Massachusetts is an up-and-coming state for tech careers, appearing multiple times on this list. In Lowell, there are 4,239 jobs in the industry, a number that makes up 7.6% of the city’s workforce.

9. Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 7.00%
Total tech jobs: 6,226
Five-year tech growth: 67.77%

Worcester, Massachusetts, comes in at No. 9. As the city in our analysis with the 19th-biggest tech growth in recent years, Worcester seems to offer a lot of career opportunities for tech professionals, with a total of 6,226 jobs. That represents 67.77% growth in recent years, and will surely continue to climb.

8. Simi Valley, California

Simi Valley, California
trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 9.10%
Total tech jobs: 6,054
Five-year tech growth: 46.66%

California is another state on the list multiple times. Simi Valley comes in as the eighth-best city for tech geniuses. While only seeing tech growth of 46.66% there recently, the city still hosts a whopping 6,054 tech jobs.

7. Fairfield, California

Fairfield, California
RozenskiP / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 7.10%
Total tech jobs: 4,083
Five-year tech growth: 108.96%

Fairfield, California, has recently seen the seventh-highest rate of tech growth in the country, at 108.96%. But the city only hosts 4,083 tech jobs.

6. Sandy, Utah

Sandy, Utah aerial view
Uladzik Kryhin / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 9.50%
Total tech jobs: 4,906
Five-year tech growth: 60.12%

The No. 6 spot is secured by Sandy, Utah. The city has recently seen a 60.12% job growth in the tech industry. Even with that growth, Sandy still only hosts 4,906 tech jobs, which account for 9.5% of its workforce.

5. Sugar Land, Texas

Sugar Land, Texas
Alizada Studios / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 12.80%
Total tech jobs: 7,533
Five-year tech growth: 47.07%

Texas also has two cities that are up-and-coming in the tech sector. Sugar Land comes in at No. 5 on the list. The city has one of the highest percentages of jobs in tech, with 12.8% of its workforce dedicated to the industry. That percentage boils down to 7,533 jobs. With those kinds of stats, you’re likely to find something to do here.

4. Hampton, Virginia

Hampton, Virginia lighthouse and beach
Kathy Clark / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 11.30%
Total tech jobs: 6,883
Five-year tech growth: 59.85%

Hampton‘s surge in the tech industry puts it fourth on our list. The Virginia city has experienced 59.85% tech growth, for a new total of 6,883 total tech jobs. That’s 11.3% of the city’s workforce.

3. Westminster, Colorado

Westminster, Colorado
Kit Leong / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 10.60%
Total tech jobs: 6,941
Five-year tech growth: 61.98%

Coming in hot at No. 3 is Westminister, Colorado. This city plays host to 6,941 total tech jobs, which translates to 10.6% of all jobs there. What’s even more promising is the fact that the industry has recently seen 61.98% tech growth.

2. Coral Springs, Florida

Coral Springs, Florida city hall
YES Market Media / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 9.20%
Total tech jobs: 6,247
Five-year tech growth: 163.25%

Coral Springs, Florida, has experienced the third-biggest tech growth in the country recently, with 163.25% growth. The city’s having 6,247 jobs in the tech field means you’re well-situated to find your place here.

1. College Station, Texas

College Station, Texas
Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

Percent jobs in tech: 14.40%
Total tech jobs: 7,763
Five-year tech growth: 82.66%

College Station, Texas, comes first on our list of best tech cities, with the largest share of workers in tech in our top 10, a strong growth rate, and 7,763 total tech jobs.

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