Guide
The 16 Best Tech Job Cities in 2024
Written By Nat Davis
Edited By Jess Feldman
Last updated on November 27, 2024
Written By Nat Davis
Edited By Jess Feldman
Course Report strives to create the most trust-worthy content about coding bootcamps. Read more about Course Report’s Editorial Policy and How We Make Money.
Course Report strives to create the most trust-worthy content about coding bootcamps. Read more about Course Report’s Editorial Policy and How We Make Money.
What are the best tech job cities of 2024? While remote tech jobs are on the rise, wages are often still tied to a geographic location and cost of living. And even though salaries are still highest in major tech cities, you can now look beyond San Francisco and New York City to find a strong job network (though we still love SF and NYC)! Here are the 16 best tech job cities, ranked by population, companies, industries, and wages.
Working in a major tech city offers many benefits, from enjoying the local culture, cuisine, and entertainment to being employed by some of the world’s top companies. While remote work has seen the most increase in the last two years, in-person or remote work in these specific tech cities offers more job opportunities, higher salaries, connection to a community of other tech professionals, and mentorships with leaders in tech. Plus, finding a bootcamp in these cities means having support from bootcamp career teams, who are most likely to have connections in these cities.
1. Access to Tech Jobs - Nationwide in 2019-2020 there were 800,000 remote IT jobs available. Tech jobs alone accounted for 8.9 million jobs in the U.S. in 2022. While major metro areas continue to lead as the best tech job cities, some of the other best tech job cities are gaining traction as headquarters expand from these typical metro areas.
2. High-Paying Tech Salaries - While tech professionals are some of the highest earners in the modern workforce, wages often depend on the local economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a median salary for developers and programmers between $78,000 and $109,000, but developers in tech cities are making or exceeding the top-end of those salary ranges.
3. Connection & Networking with Other Tech Pros - A major benefit to embarking on a tech career is the communities formed in the tech sphere. For those working in tech in a major tech city, options abound for in-person and virtual networking and events!
Meetups and communities that focus on connecting people who have historically been offered less resources may have in-person opportunities in big tech cities. These groups may include:
A tech-focused city may also offer unique, in-person tech conferences, such as:
4. Mentorships with Tech Leaders - Having an experienced guide to offer support can make all the difference when you’re embarking on a tech career. Mentorship opportunities with senior tech professionals in the city will help you expand your network, make wiser career decisions, and increase productivity over time. They may also be crucial references if you’re looking to move to a competitive role at a large tech company in the city!
The best tech job cities span coast-to-coast in the U.S.! These cities are home to a vibrant tech community of both established companies and upcoming startups, and are known to hire for hundreds of tech roles. Factors that contribute to the best tech job cities are cost of living, number of tech jobs available, and expected tech career growth over the next five years.
Atlanta continues to grow as one of the nation's leading tech cities. Though there are less tech-specific companies, the need for skilled tech professionals is still high, as established corporations adapt with evolving technology and tools. The city of Atlanta has made intentional efforts to educate local talent to be prepared for this changing workforce and has invested more than $7 billion in local tech companies. The median salary for tech professionals in Atlanta is $96,000, which is even sweeter when the cost of living is 4% lower than the national average!
The biggest industries in Atlanta are in tech development, commerce, and communications. Atlanta continues to be home to major companies like Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, UPS, and The Home Depot. Other major companies that make Atlanta one of the best tech job cities include Microsoft, Assurant, Accenture, Cox Communications, and IBM.
The top coding bootcamps in Atlanta include:
Home to 5,500 startups and tech companies, Austin is now known as a “new” tech headquarters as established companies like Google and Meta make it their home. With a 3-4% lower cost of living than the national average, Austin still pays out an average salary of $91,000 for IT professionals.
The biggest industries in Austin are in tech development, banking, and ecommerce, through companies like Google, IBM, Tesla, IBM, Dell, The Home Depot, Charles Schwab, Amazon, Apple, and Visa.
The best coding bootcamps in Austin include:
Boston is a rising tech hub, booming in healthtech, edtech, fintech, and robotics. Boston saw a nearly 26% growth in tech jobs in 2022 with over 91,000 job postings! Trending tech jobs in Boston are NLP Engineer, Mobile Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, Front End Engineer, and Security Engineer. An average tech salary in Boston is $147,000 — this makes up for the 54% higher cost of living than the national average.
Major industries in Boston are in fintech, automotive, ecommerce, in both established companies and startups. The top tech companies in Boston are Amazon, Zipcar, Wayfair, TripAdvisor, HubSpot, General Electric, and Liberty Mutual.
The best coding bootcamps in Boston include:
Charlotte has consistently been one of the best tech job cities on the East Coast. North Carolina is full of rich diversity — of all the tech companies in Charlotte, 37% of CEOs are women. On top of a cost of living that is 1.7% lower than the national average, North Carolina boasts a flat income tax rate regardless of annual earnings, as well as low property and sales taxes. This means your median salary of $93,600 will go further in Charlotte, NC.
The biggest industries in Charlotte are banking, tech development, home improvement, communications, and healthcare. Major companies who hire out of Charlotte include: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Humana, Lowe’s Companies, Microsoft, IBM, and VMware.
The best coding bootcamps in Charlotte include:
According to the CompTIA’s Tech Town Index 2020, Dallas saw record growth in job placement, sheerly for the number of tech jobs that became available — with over 32,000 new jobs in 2020. Dallas holds a 10.5% expected growth in tech jobs in the next five years. The median salary for tech pros in Dallas is $97,000 — on par with the cost of living which is a little lower than the national average.
The biggest companies and industries hiring for tech jobs in Dallas are primarily in banking, like Capital One, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, USAS, and Wells Fargo; communications and tech companies like Verizon and IBM; and corporations like AT&T, Southwest Airlines, and ExxonMobile.
The best coding bootcamps in Dallas include:
Nestled near national forests and grasslands, Denver offers a unique living experience for those who want a metropolitan lifestyle merged with outdoor recreation. Tech professionals in Denver make an average salary of $105,000, which goes a long way in relation to the cost of living, which is only 12% higher than the national average.
Some of the biggest tech industries in Denver are healthtech, software development, cloud technology, aerospace, machine learning, and robotics. Top tech companies in Denver include Google, Oracle, HomeAdvisor, Wells Fargo, and Hinge.
The best coding bootcamps in Denver include:
Huntsville ascended four spots on the CompTIA Tech Town Index from 2020 to 2021! There were over 14,000 tech jobs posted in Huntsville in 2021, relative to the 15,000 tech jobs posted the year before, still projecting an 8.2% growth in tech jobs in the next five years. Huntsville has historically been known for aerospace technology and military defense, but industries are expanding to tech development, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and logistics. While the cost of living is 3.8% lower than the national average, Huntsville still pays on average $98,000 for tech jobs!
Major industries that hire tech professionals in Huntsville are in machine manufacturing like weaponry and automotive, logistics and systems development, tech innovation, and pharmaceutical services. Major companies hiring tech professionals include: Northrop Grumman, The Boeing Company, SAIC, Raytheon, Leidos, Deloitte, Dynetics Incorporated, Torch Technologies and Lockheed Martin.
Miami is a bustling, thriving city of culture and innovation. The city supports the development of their local talent, as venture capital firms move in eager to invest, and as more of Miami’s tech grads are traditionally underrepresented compared to any other tech city in the nation. The cost of living is 21% higher than the national average, which isn’t bad when you consider the average salary for software developers in Miami is $152,000!
Top industries in Miami are aerospace and aviation, information technology, security, manufacturing, and life sciences. Tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, SAP, Dell, Oracle, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Amazon all have offices in Miami. Other established companies are headquartered in Miami, like Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Burger King.
The best coding bootcamps in Miami include:
NYC boasts a combination of global industries that lend itself easily to creative and innovative thinkers. There were 204,883 posted tech jobs in NYC in 2021, with a projected growth of 7.7% by 2026. Tech professionals in NYC average a $108,000 salary, though the 37% higher cost of living than the national average still makes it a difficult city to afford to live in. NYC is one of the top tech cities to work remotely with job postings for thousands of remote tech jobs.
NYC is home to many industries, from fashion to finance to manufacturing and healthcare. Major tech companies in NYC include JP Morgan Chase, IBM, Wells Fargo, Bloomberg, and Anthem Blue Cross. Plus, Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and TikTok all locked in prime real estate throughout Manhattan in 2021.
The best coding bootcamps in NYC are:
Popular for its convenience to the coast, Portland draws a deep talent pool, which encourages competitive salaries and constant innovation, making this one of the best tech cities in the U.S. In 2022, there were over 75,000 tech jobs in Portland, showing a nearly 6% increase in tech as an industry and an almost 11% wage increase in tech careers. Though the cost of living is 27% higher than the national average, Portland tech professionals average a salary between $84,000-$106,000, some upwards to $130,000.
Portland is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the U.S., like Google, Nike, Columbia, Airbnb, Squarespace, Mozilla, and Salesforce.
The best coding bootcamps in Portland, OR include:
North Carolina is home to a bustling tech scene and Raleigh is an excellent tech city for software engineers and developers. Since Apple moved to Raleigh in April 2021, there has been a $1 billion investment in an engineering hub that will produce 3,000 jobs in software engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, as well as plans to fund local school and community programs across North Carolina. Living in Raleigh costs nearly 3% less than the national average and tech jobs in Raleigh pay on average $96,000!
Major companies who work in industries like finance, tech development, and innovation promote tech jobs in Raleigh, like Deloitte, Red Hat, Accenture, Wells Fargo, IBM, and Splunk.
The best coding bootcamps in Raleigh include:
San Diego is a tech city known for its thriving outdoor, arts, and food scenes. The top five in-demand tech jobs in San Diego are software engineer, data scientist, AI engineer, and information security analyst. Average salary for an IT professional in San Diego is $86,000, while software engineers make closer to $140,000, which is comparable to the 47% higher cost of living than the national average.
The top tech industries in San Diego are healthtech, ecommerce, fashion, software, semiconductor, data and analytics, cloud, fintech, sales software, and transportation. Top tech companies in San Diego are Teradata, Audatex US, Kyocera Mobile, Bing, and MiFiHotspot.
The best coding bootcamps in San Diego are:
San Francisco has been a major tech hub for decades and home to many large tech companies. The cost of living in San Francisco is a whopping 65% higher than the national average, though the $132,800 average salary payout does help balance that difference.
San Francisco supports industries like finance, tech development, mobile app development, and commerce. The biggest companies hiring tech professionals in San Francisco are Meta, Amazon, Uber, Salesforce, Microsoft, Accenture, Airbnb, Asana, and Lucid Motors.
The best coding bootcamps in San Francisco include:
San Jose has ranked as one of the most desirable tech cities for many years, as over half the total capital made available to US tech companies was distributed in San Jose alone. The talent pool is highly saturated and the cost of living is 45% higher than the national average, which is reflected in the median $148,000 salary.
The biggest companies hiring tech professionals in San Jose are Apple, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, and Uber.
The best coding bootcamps in San Jose include:
Seattle is widely known as one of the best tech job cities in the world with many top tech companies establishing their headquarters in the city. Within five years, the Seattle startup scene has boomed from zero unicorn businesses to 12 in 2022! Seattle is the best city for tech jobs when considering the cost of living and the median salary. Compared to West Coast counterparts, Seattle’s cost of living is 22.6% higher than the national average, while still paying an average salary of $131,000 to tech professionals.
Seattle is home to some of the biggest tech industries and companies in the world, like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, T-Mobile, Deloitte, Salesforce, Expedia, and the Boeing Company.
The best coding bootcamps in Seattle include:
Washington, DC is the hub for the national government and is becoming a landing pad for major companies like Amazon. Beyond big business, Washington, DC has prioritized fostering inclusion in the tech industry, as the city has created 5,000 new tech jobs for underrepresented workers and 500 new tech businesses founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs. The average salary of tech pros in Washington, DC is $113,000 which fares well with the 17.4% higher cost of living than the national average, compared to surrounding tech cities.
Major industries in Washington, DC include aviation, aerospace, automotive, government, ecommerce, AI, IT, and fintech. Some of the biggest tech companies in Washington, DC include Amazon, Microsoft, Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, and CACI.
The best coding bootcamps in Washington, DC are:
Share your favorite tech city to work from in the comments!
Nat Davis connects to writing to communicate stories, thoughts, ideas, and resources. When not jotting, Nat is a health coach, hiker, youth advocate, foodie, comedian, improviser, and karaoke singer.
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