Chapter 3
What defines a Tech Talent market?
Scoring Tech Talent 2024
4 Minute Read
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Two key characteristics of top tech talent markets are high educational attainment and high concentrations of young people.
Forty-two of the top 50 tech talent markets have a metro-level educational attainment rate above their national averages of 35.7% in the U.S. and 32.2% in Canada. The top 10 markets have 44% or more of residents over 25 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher (Figure 12). Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin have rates of 52% or more.
Education, particularly with a focus on technology,2 is best analyzed through degrees issued by higher educational institutions. Metro areas that produced the most tech graduates last year with bachelor’s or higher degrees were New York Metro, Los Angeles-Orange County, Boston, Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Bay Area (Figure 13). Large tech talent markets dominate the top 10 degree-granting regions. Demand is high for tech-related education. Between 2017 and 2022, U.S. tech-related degrees grew by 75,500. This analysis provides insight into which markets produce the most tech talent entering the labor pool each year.
Figure 12: Top 10 Markets for Educational Attainment* (2022)
* Population age 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Figure 13: Top 10 Markets for Tech Degree Completions
Note: bachelor's degree or higher.
2 Tech degree fields include computer engineering & information sciences, mathematics & statistics, electrical & electronics engineering and, mechanical & industrial engineering.
Many graduates do not stay in the market where they earn their degree; they often move to markets that offer the most job opportunities or have the best pay.
Analyzing tech-related graduation data and tech-related employment growth identifies tech talent flow between where workers are employed and where they were educated.
In the following chart, “Tech Degrees” covers the most recent five-year period available (2018-2022) and “Tech Jobs Added” covers the period when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2019-2023).
Figure 14: Tech Degrees vs. Tech Jobs Added by Market
* Tech degrees cover the most recent five-year period available (2018-2022) and tech jobs added cover the time period reflecting when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2019-2023).
Figure 14: Tech Degrees vs. Tech Jobs Added by Market
Many graduates do not stay in the market where they earn their degree; they often move to markets that offer the most job opportunities or have the best pay.
Analyzing tech-related graduation data and tech-related employment growth identifies tech talent flow between where workers are employed and where they were educated.
In the following chart, “Tech Degrees” covers the most recent five-year period available (2018-2022) and “Tech Jobs Added” covers the period when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2019-2023).
* Tech degrees cover the most recent five-year period available (2018-2022) and tech jobs added cover the time period reflecting when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2019-2023).
The standout markets for tech talent job creation were Toronto (61,057), Calgary (21,557) and the San Francisco Bay Area (20,221). Other top tech talent job creators were Ottawa, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Montreal. The top education markets—those with more tech degree graduates than tech talent jobs—were New York Metro, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Greater Los Angeles-Orange County and Philadelphia.
Thirty-seven markets had more tech degree graduates than new tech talent jobs. This implies a dispersion of tech talent hiring, as the national tech talent workforce has grown year-over-year. This may be attributable to increased remote work opportunities.
Software engineering is the most coveted skill by tech employers. From 2022 to 2023, more than 154,000 new software engineering jobs were created in the U.S. versus 189,000 university graduates specializing in software engineering. This shortfall in software engineering degree graduates encouraged upskilling of the existing workforce and some international immigration to meet the demand. In Canada, international immigration has played a much larger role in fulfilling tech talent needs.
The number and concentration of people in their 20s and 30s, which drives workforce growth and innovation, is another notable characteristic of top tech talent markets. Those in their 30s are the largest demographic cohort in the workforce, while those in their 20s will fuel future growth (Figures 15 and 16).
There were six markets with fast growing populations in their 20s and 18 markets with those in their 30s, both with increases of more than 10% from 2017 to 2022. The Waterloo Region had the most overall growth for residents in their 20s at 29%, followed by Toronto (13%), Austin (13%) and Salt Lake City (12%). Among the largest tech talent markets, Vancouver and Austin led with 18% growth of those in their 30s, while Waterloo and Jacksonville led the smallest markets with 20% and 19%, respectively.
Growth rates were much higher for degree-holders in their 20s and 30s. All but four U.S. markets saw degree-holders in their 20s increase from 2017 to 2022, with 10% aggregate growth for the 42 U.S. markets. Degree-holders in their 30s grew in all but two markets during the same period, with 16% growth for the 42-market aggregate. For both age cohorts, tech talent markets were slightly below the U.S. averages of 13% growth for degree-holders in their 20s and 18% growth for those in their 30s (Figures 17 and 18).
Figure 15: Population Change of Those in Their 20s by Market, 2017-2022
Figure 16: Population Change of Those in Their 30s by Market, 2017-2022
Figure 17: Change in Residents in Their 20s with College Degrees for U.S. Markets, 2017-2022
Figure 18: Change in Residents in Their 30s with College Degrees for U.S. Markets, 2017-2022
All but four U.S. markets saw degree-holders in their 20s grow from 2017 to 2022, with 10% aggregate growth for the 42 U.S. markets.
Salt Lake City, the Waterloo Region and Madison, WI had the highest concentration of residents in their 20s, comprising about 18% of each market’s total population (Figure 19). Austin, Seattle and Calgary had the highest concentration of residents in their 30s (Figure 20).
Figure 19: Top 10 Most Concentrated Markets for Residents in Their 20s (2022)
Figure 20: Top 10 Most Concentrated Markets for Residents in Their 30s (2022)
People in their 20s and 30s account for 47.6% of the tech talent workforce across all industries in the U.S., compared with 41.7% for general office-using industries (Figure 21). Tech talent working within the tech industry has an even higher concentration at 53.7%. Older workers (age 55 and up) comprised 27.9% of the labor force for all office-using industries compared with 20.7% of tech talent working in all industries and 15.7% of tech talent working within the tech industry.
Figure 21: U.S. Workforce by Age for Certain Industries (2022)
Note: Office-using includes occupations that are typically performed in an office setting (excluding tech talent).
Top markets are distinguished by tech clusters and higher concentrations of tech talent. These clusters typically form around preeminent universities that tend to invest the most in innovation and provide a steady flow of new talent for local companies. Tech clusters also form around leading companies that draw other companies to a region and support an innovative ecosystem that spawns new entrepreneurs and companies.
Tech companies use these clusters for synergy and competition, thereby accelerating the innovation process. These companies in the high-tech industry are heavily concentrated, with more than half of their workers doing tech-related jobs (Figure 22). Consequently, tech talent clusters tend to form in markets with a strong concentration of high-tech companies.
Figure 22: Tech Talent Workforce Concentration by Industry (2023)
** Excluding High-Tech.
*** Finance, Insurance & Real Estate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2024.
Clusters typically form around preeminent universities that tend to invest the most in innovation and provide a steady flow of new talent for local companies. Tech clusters also form around leading companies that draw other companies to a region and support an innovative ecosystem that spawns new entrepreneurs and companies.
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