Austin Claims Top Spot in Second Annual CompTIA Tech Town Index

Downers Grove, IL (Dec. 3, 2019) — The eyes of information technology (IT) workers may be focused on Austin, Texas, the top metro market in the United States for IT job opportunities and quality of life considerations, according to the second annual Tech Town Index released today by CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry.

Austin moves up from number three in the 2018 index to number one in 2019 based in large part on the market’s projected growth rate for new IT jobs – 16 % over the next five years. Other index factors that contributed to Austin’s top ranking include a cost of living lower than the national average and current strong demand for IT workers relative to the number of people employed in the market.

Last year’s top-ranked Tech Town, Charlotte, North Carolina, slipped to sixth this year.

Four cities join the TechTown Index for the first time, including Columbus, Ohio, which makes an impressive debut at number 12, San Diego, Jacksonville, Florida and Tampa, Florida.

“The 2019 Tech Town Index includes a mix of traditional tech hubs, cities that have in recent years flexed their tech industry muscles and new markets that are staking their claims as budding innovation centers,” said Nancy Hammervik, executive vice president for industry relations at CompTIA.

“The clear takeaway is that there are opportunities for challenging, rewarding and well-paying tech jobs across the United States,” Hammervik continued. “Whether you’re working in IT today, or contemplating employment in tech, there’s a great chance that you can find a locale that offers you the opportunity to attain your career aspirations while living in an environment that accommodates your lifestyle preference.”

Here is the complete CompTIA Tech Town Index for 2019, with last year’s ranking in parentheses.

1. Austin, Texas (3)
2. Raleigh, North Carolina (2)
3. San Jose, California (4)
4. Seattle (7)
5. San Francisco (5)
6. Charlotte, North Caroliba (1)
7. Dallas, Texas (6)
8. Atlanta (9)
9. Denver (8)
10. Huntsville, Alabama (10)
11. Washington, D.C. (11)
12. Columbus, Ohio (NR)
13. Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina (15)
14. Boulder, Colorado (19)
15. Boston (17)
16. Colorado Springs, Colorado (20)
17. San Diego (NR)
18. Jacksonville, Florida (NR)
19. Tampa, Florida (NR)
20. Baltimore (16)

Four markets that made the 2018 list dropped off the index in 2019 – Des Moines, Iowa (12), Lansing, Michigan (13), Madison, Wisconsin (14) and Trenton, New Jersey (18).

The U.S. job market for technology workers is robust. In Q3 2019 there were nearly 900,000 core IT job postings, according to CompTIA’s analysis of data from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights. That represented 10% of all job postings across the country and is 9% higher than in Q3 2018.

Software development is the area where most companies expect to place their focus in the upcoming year, but there is also strong demand for cybersecurity, data and IT infrastructure workers, according to CompTIA’s “IT Industry Outlook 2020” report.

Insights from the Index

• California, Colorado and North Carolina each placed three cities among the 20 ranked in the Tech Town Index. Florida and Texas each had two representatives.
• Washington, D.C. continues to be a hotbed of opportunity with the highest number of job postings in this year’s list (191,905 between August 2019 and July 2019). San Francisco (166,917), San Jose (141,371), Dallas (133,778) and Atlanta (102,023) also posted strong tech help-wanted numbers.
• Columbus has the lowest cost of living among the 20 cities that made the list, at an estimated 5.1% lower than the national average. Raleigh (4.6%), Atlanta (4.2%), Huntsville (4%), Austin (3.5%) and Charlotte (2.5%), Durham-Chapel Hill (1.4%) and Dallas (1.1%) are also below the national average.
• Cities with projections for double-digit growth in IT jobs over the next five years include Austin (16%), San Francisco (13%), Denver (11%) Seattle (11%), Dallas (10%) and San Jose (10%).

CompTIA’s Tech Town Index is a snapshot designed to provide some guidance on locations to consider for a job in technology, considering factors such as job postings, projected employment growth, real wages and cost of living. It is not intended to serve as a comprehensive measurement of all factors that may impact career choice decisions.

The complete CompTIA Tech Town Index 2019, with details and data on each city’s tech sector, affordability and lifestyle accommodations is available here.

###

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce.