These days, it’s hard to find a company that isn’t looking for qualified professionals to fill important IT roles. In fact, despite layoffs and hiring freezes reported at technology companies, IT job postings grew month-over-month in the first half of 2022, a boom Dice attributes .com in IT hiring outpaced almost every other industry outside of tech, according to its Tech Jobs Report.
This means that career opportunities for IT pros are growing beyond the typical coastal cities that typically dominate IT hiring. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to the rise of tech job postings in various cities across the country, as some IT professionals have moved to new cities or states, and employers have become more open to hiring remote workers. This is especially true for Silicon Valley, which has seen a mass exodus of tech workers throughout the pandemic. Companies began branching out, opening offices in cities with more space, a lower cost of living, and a diverse talent pool.
While hiring remains strong in traditional tech hubs, like San Francisco and New York, tech job postings have increased the most this year in the following 12 cities, according to data from Dice, making them the fastest growing locations for IT jobs in the US today.
1. Orlando, Fla.
Orlando experienced the most significant increase in tech job postings, with 111% year over year growth. Usually seen as a city for retirees and tourists, Orlando is making a name for itself as a growing tech metropolis. The city is home to several colleges and universities, making it a hot spot for recruiting talent, and it’s not too hard to sell candidates on moving to Florida. The city also built the Central Florida Research Park, a campus-like environment for businesses located near the University of Central Florida. A Creative Village was also built in downtown Orlando to serve as an urban innovation center complete with mixed-income residential buildings, student housing, office and creative space, and more. Companies like Apple, Oracle, Veritas, Lockheed Martin, AMD, MITRE, and Electronic Arts have offices in the Orlando area, and the average tech salary in Orlando is $88,598 per year, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
2. Miami, Fla.
Nicknamed “Silicon Beach,” Miami experienced 104% year-over-year growth for tech job postings, according to Dice. Much of this growth is attributed to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who encouraged technologists and tech companies to relocate to Miami. Some of the top hiring organizations in Miami include Anthem Blue Cross, Accenture, Deloitte, Dell, ChenMed, and UKG. Companies on Mami are looking for software developers and engineers, project managers, network engineers and architects, IT project managers, and customer support specialists. Tech salaries have grown in tandem with job postings — the average tech salary increased 11.4% between 2020 and 2021, with an average annual salary of $92,000.
3. Detroit
Detroit was one of the cities that saw a lot of “boomerang” during the pandemic, which is a term for people who moved away only to eventually come back and settle. With remote work on the rise, many have taken the opportunity to return to Detroit, bolstering the area’s talent pool. The city is also expected to add about 1,800 new tech jobs this year, according to CompTIA. Companies like Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Amazon, and Pinterest have opened offices in Detroit in recent years. Detroit experienced 90% year over year growth in tech job postings, with an average tech salary of $99,376 per year, according to Dice.
4. Irvine, Calif.
Irvine experienced 89% year-over-year growth in tech job postings, according to Dice. Amazon plans to add 800 office and tech jobs to Irvine this year and Apple also signed a lease on a building in the city. Mayor Farrah Khan also launched an Innovation Council, comprised of industry leaders from the government, education, and business sectors to strengthen the region’s position in the technology industry. Companies that have opened offices in Irvine include Sega, Razer, Vizio, Viant Technology, Blizzard Entertainment, and The Linksys Group, among others.
5. Houston
While Austin has long been viewed as Texas’ main tech hub, Houston has also seen a boom in tech talent of late, boasting 83% year-over-year growth in tech job postings, with average tech salaries that’s $100,341 per year, according to Dice. The city turned an abandoned Sears department store into a 300,000 square-foot complex for innovation and as a place for startup accelerators and incubators. The goal is to cultivate more tech talent in the Houston area, bringing bigger tech giants to the area. Companies with offices in Houston include The Aerospace Corp., ServiceNow, Optum, Corva, Siemens, and AvidXchange, among others.
6. San Antonio
San Antonio’s “Tech Port” is a 1,900-acre campus located on the former site of Kelly Air Force Base, which has been redeveloped over the past 20 years to help the city promote the local technology industry. The Tech Port also features a music venue, and proceeds from the events go to the Kelly Heritage Foundation, which provides technology and STEM opportunities to students in the San Antonio area. Companies like Hulu, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, Apple, ServiceNow, iheartMedia, and Cisco have opened offices in San Antonio. Tech job postings in San Antonio grew 80% year over year, with the average tech worker earning $81,870 per year, according to Dice.
7. Portland, Ore.
Portland is part of the “Silicon Forest,” a moniker that refers to the high-tech companies that have settled in the Portland metropolitan area. Portland’s tech scene began in the 1940s with companies such as Tektronix, Intel, InFocus, PixelWorks, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, and Epson moving to the area. In the early 2000s, Portland was hit hard during the dotcom bust, with tech hiring stagnating. But this has turned around in recent years as the city has experienced 76% year-over-year growth in tech job postings, with the average tech salary coming in at $107,185 per year, according to Dice .
8. Tampa, Fla.
Called No. 1 emerging tech city in the US by Forbes, Tampa is home to more than 25% of all technology jobs in Florida, with an expected 2,000 additional jobs to be added in the coming year. The city is in the process of developing a mixed-use Innovation Center in Tampa’s Uptown neighborhood, with 19 square miles of housing, creative, office and retail space to be built around the University of Southern Tampa. Companies like Infosys, IBM, Wipro, Honeywell, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Google, Dell, and Salesforce have opened offices in Tampa within the last few years. Tampa experienced 71% year-over-year growth in tech job postings over the past year and tech workers earned an average salary of $97,098 per year, according to Dice.
9. Phoenix
Phoenix is home to the “Silicon Desert,” and it’s quickly becoming a hot spot for the tech industry, with a focus on telecommunications, electronics manufacturing, and aerospace. Operating costs in Phoenix are 36% lower than in California, according to the Phoenix Business Journal, making it an attractive place for tech companies looking for a cheaper home base for headquarters. It is also the fifth largest data center market in the country, with “low natural disaster risk, cheap power, and competitive colocation and cloud markets.” Phoenix is home to companies like ADP, Workiva, ServiceNow, Traffic Tech, BigTime Software, and General Motors. Tech job postings in Phoenix grew 69% year over year, with tech workers earning an average annual salary of $91,105, according to Dice.
10. Charlotte, NC
Charlotte is hailed as the tech hub of the south, with tech job postings growing 65% year over year, and an average annual salary of $100,691 for tech workers, according to Dice. There is strong traction in tech jobs in the financial services industry, as banking is increasingly undergoing digital transformation. Charlotte is home to companies like Red Ventures, Credit Karma, EPAM Systems, Torc Robotics, Axios, Cisco, LendingTree, and AvidXchange. There is high demand for software engineers, web developers, IT support specialists, network administrators and architects, data scientists, and cybersecurity professionals, according to CompTIA.
11. Boston
Boston has grown to become a popular tech hub in recent years, with companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle opening offices in the city. Amazon recently opened a technology hub in the Seaport district, with space for more than 2,000 employees and more than 1,000 technology and corporate roles available. There’s also a hot market for startups in the city and access to graduates from MIT, Harvard, BU, Tufts, and Northeastern. VCs have moved into the area to keep an eye on emerging startups because of the city’s success rate with startups such as Hubspot, Care.com, TripAdvisor, and Wayfair. Tech job postings in Boston grew 64% year over year, with an average tech salary of $114,959 per year, according to Dice.
12. St. Louis
Missouri is part of the so-called “Silicon Prairie,” which includes several midwestern states that have experienced a boom in tech companies setting up shop. Tech job postings in St. Louis grew 64% year-over-year, according to data from Dice. And the average annual salary for tech employees in St. Louis is $124,487, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Midwestern states often have a lower cost of living and more space than traditional tech hubs. It has attracted tech companies and technologists in the Midwest to put down roots in St. Louis. Companies that have relocated or opened offices in St. Louis include Spectrum, EPAM Systems, ServiceNow, Cash App, ServiceTitan, Boeing, and Square, among others.