Here Are the Places Where You Are Most Likely to Get a Tech Job

• Author: William Asher
• Posted: 2024-04-02

We hear all over the media that the tech industry is booming. STEM fields are consistently ranked as having the highest-paying and the highest-opportunity jobs. However, many people see a disparity; while they're told that there is a huge job market waiting for that Computer Science degree, they have trouble actually finding a local opportunity.

Unfortunately, many Computer Science opportunities tend to be concentrated in urban areas. While salaries in this type of field are high, some of it is remitted to the higher cost of living that typically comes with the job. Here are some of the cheaper cities with the most tech jobs as of March 2020, allowing you to get the most bang for your buck and pay down those student loans.

Austin, Texas

Austin has recently emerged as one of the top contenders for tech jobs. While it isn't cheap to live there, it is certainly less costly than the "Silicon Valley" of California. Though Silicon Valley still holds the plurality of market share of tech jobs, Austin's tech market has been steadily growing. As an additional bonus, you won't face any state or local income tax if your choose to move and work here, since the constitution of Texas prohibits an income tax!

Denver, Colorado

Denver's cost of living has risen rapidly, but so have salaries in the tech industry. While taxes in Colorado aren't considered to be low, they are still much lower than taxes in the west coast states. Denver's tech scene started very small. Much like Austin, it's grown into a huge industry. The region's progressive vibes and lax policies attract many young professionals to work there.

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix has not gotten much attention as a tech hub, but the work is there! The Arizona state government recognized an opportunity: with less crime than its neighboring New Mexico and a much lower cost of living than California, it could use its capital to bring in new businesses and skilled workers. After recent amenities were completed, Phoenix has started to morph into a tech hub. While its still in early stages, salaries are competitive. This is one of the very few tech hubs where workers could feasibly afford to purchase a home.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte may not be the safest city, but it certainly generates a good amount of revenue. Located in western North Carolina, it usually isn't the first place most would think of as a tech hub. It has a low job growth rate, but its population growth rate is also stagnating. These matching numbers provide for a job market that always has plenty of open listings and is ready for new employees to move in.

One of the issues with Charlotte is affordability relative to the rest of the surrounding region. It's fairly close to eastern Tennessee, known as one of the cheapest places in the country, as well as several cheaper cities in North Carolina and South Carolina. To combat Charlotte's lack of affordability, many workers choose to live in neighboring South Carolina, where the cost of just about everything is much less. Although the commute can get brutal depending on where the worker chooses to live, it can save a huge amount of money.

Provo, Utah

Perhaps the most surprising tech job creator is Provo, Utah. This small city is considered a suburb of Salt Lake City. Provo has several incentives for companies to relocate there and has added amenities to attract young professionals. One possible reason for a boom in tech jobs in this city is that Salt Lake City becomes less affordable for many each year. Provo, on the other hand, nearly slices the cost of living for tech workers in half. They're still within close driving distance of Salt Lake City but don't need to deal with the traffic and higher cost of living it entails.

Key Takeaways

Remember, these are not the only options available to tech workers. Though remote jobs have begun to decline, there are opportunities all over the country. Even in very rural areas, there are usually jobs at Internet Service Providers, colleges, and other places. This list simply details cities with the highest concentration of jobs in STEM fields and job growth in these fields. Silicon Valley was not included due to its prohibitively high cost of living at the moment.