Chapter 3

What defines a Tech Talent market?

Scoring Tech Talent 2025

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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 35.0% in the U.S. and 32.9% in Canada. The top 10 markets have 45% or more of residents over 25 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher (Figure 13). Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, Raleigh-Durham, Boston and Austin have rates of 52% or more.

Education, particularly with a focus on technology,3 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., the San Francisco Bay Area and Atlanta (Figure 14). Large tech talent markets dominate the top 10 degree-granting metros. Demand is high for tech-related education. Between 2020 and 2023, U.S. tech-related degrees grew by 26,000. This analysis provides insight into which markets produce the most tech talent entering the labor pool each year.

Figure 13: Top 10 Markets for Educational Attainment* (2023)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Environics Analytics, April 2025.
* Population age 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Figure 14: Top 10 Markets for Tech Degree Completions

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Canadian universities, May 2025.
Note: Population age 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
3 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 (Figure 15). Tech degrees cover the most recent three-year period available (2021-2023) and tech talent jobs added cover the period when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2022-2024). The standout markets for tech talent job creation were Dallas-Ft. Worth (24,128), Calgary (21,198) and Toronto (18,657). Other top tech talent job creators were South Florida, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nashville and Charlotte.

Thirty-six 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. The top education markets—those with more tech degree graduates than tech talent jobs—were Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles-Orange County, Atlanta and Chicago. New York Metro was the top education market last year but new tech talent jobs from mostly non-tech employers brought supply and demand into a better balance.

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 16 and 17).

There were four markets with fast growing populations in their 20s and 18 markets with those in their 30s, both with increases of more than 10% from 2018 to 2023. The Waterloo Region had the most overall growth for residents in their 20s at 40%, followed by Vancouver (17%), Toronto (16%) and Calgary (11%). Among the largest tech talent markets, Vancouver and Austin led with 25% and 20% growth, respectively, of those in their 30s, while the Waterloo Region and Jacksonville led the smallest markets with 31% and 18%, respectively.

Figure 15: Tech Degrees vs. Tech Jobs Added by Market

Source: CBRE Research, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, Canadian universities, 2025.
* Tech degrees cover the most recent five-year period available (2021-2023) and tech jobs added cover the time period reflecting when most graduates would be counted in employment figures (2022-2024).

Figure 16: Population Change of Those in Their 20s by Market, 2018-2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, May 2025.

Figure 17: Population Change of Those in Their 30s by Market, 2018-2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau , Statistics Canada, May 2025.

Growth rates were much higher for degree-holders in their 20s and 30s. All but six markets saw degree-holders in their 20s increase between 2018 and 2023, with 8% aggregate growth for the 42 U.S. markets. Degree-holders in their 30s grew in all markets during the same period, with 15% growth for the 42-market aggregate (Figures 18 and 19).

Figure 18: Change in Residents in Their 20s with College Degrees for U.S. Markets, 2018-2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, IPUMS, May 2025.

Figure 19: Change in Residents in Their 30s with College Degrees for U.S. Markets, 2018-2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, IPUMS, May 2025.

The Waterloo Region, Salt Lake City, Madison, Toronto and Vancouver had the highest concentrations of residents in their 20s, comprising 16% or more of each market’s total population (Figure 20). Austin, Seattle and Calgary had the highest concentrations of residents in their 30s (Figure 21).

People in their 20s and 30s account for 49% of the tech talent workforce across all industries in the U.S., compared with 40% for general office-using industries (Figure 22). Tech talent working within the tech industry has an even higher concentration at 52%. Older workers (age 55 and up) comprised 30% of the labor force for all office-using industries, compared with 21% of tech talent working in all industries and 18% of tech talent working within the tech industry.

Figure 20: Top 10 Most Concentrated Markets for Residents in Their 20s (2023)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, May 2025.

Figure 21: Top 10 Most Concentrated Markets for Residents in Their 30s (2023)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, May 2025.

Figure 22: U.S. Workforce by Age for Select Industries (2023)

Source: U.S. Census, IPUMS, CBRE Research, April 2025.
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 51% of their workers doing tech-related jobs in the U.S. and 65% in Canada (Figure 23). Consequently, tech talent clusters tend to form in markets with a strong concentration of high-tech companies.

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.

Figure 23: Tech Talent Workforce Concentration by Industry (2024)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada, May 2025.
* Includes computer software & services.
** Excludes High Tech.

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Chapter 4 How diverse are Tech Talent markets?
Chapter 2 Which markets have the most Tech Talent specializing in Artificial Intelligence?