Madison, WI
CBRE Report Identifies Madison as Top 20 Market Across Three Subsectors of Life Sciences Industry
Boston keeps top ranking for research & development, while New York/New Jersey leads manufacturing and LA/Orange County leads medtech
June 27, 2024
Media Contact
Derek Paumen
Comms Manager
CBRE’s annual U.S. Life Sciences Talent Trends report newly analyzes life sciences employment by subsector, mapping out the top markets and employment trends across the research & development, manufacturing and medical technology fields, with Madison ranking in the top 20 in all three subsectors.
Madison ranked 14th in R&D, which focuses on the number of “core” R&D occupations, including biochemists, biophysicists, bioengineers, biomedical engineers, biological scientists and biological technicians, totaling 1,880 employees across all occupations in 2023. Of those occupations, Madison has the highest concentration of microbiologists, chemists and biological technicians of the top 100 markets in part due to highly educated workforce supported by the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
In life science manufacturing, Madison is making its debut in the top 25, ranking 11th. As with R&D, a high concentration of biological and chemical technicians is necessary and are a major factor in manufacturing. Madison has the highest concentration of these technicians among all markets at 0.34%.
In the medtech subsector, which includes designing and producing medical devices, Madison ranked 17th among all 100 markets with more than 5,200 medtech specialists, making it one of only 16 markets to rank in the top 25 in all three industry segments.
“Despite being a smaller market compared to most of the cities in this report, Madison continues to stand out and outperform in several significant metrics across the life science sector,” said Chase Brieman, CBRE Senior Vice President in Madison. “The University of Wisconsin is a key factor in the size and success of Madison’s life sciences industry. In addition to attracting life sciences students from across the country, cutting edge research funded by the University of Wisconsin and the private sector helps to produce technologies and companies that expand locally.”
Nationally
Seven markets ranked within the top 10 of all three subsectors: Boston/Cambridge, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York/New Jersey, LA/Orange County, San Diego, Philadelphia and Chicago. Of those, Boston/Cambridge notched the highest average ranking across the three subsectors.
CBRE also expanded its third-annual analysis to 100 U.S. markets from 74 in last year’s report, thus including up-and-coming markets such as Madison, Wis., and Trenton, N.J.
Overall, U.S. life sciences job growth has been sluggish since interest rates began rising in 2022. The industry’s job growth – specifically in biotechnology R&D and pharmaceutical/medicine manufacturing – amounted to 0.2% since June 2022 after gaining 15.8% in the same period prior to June 2022.
Even so, demand for life sciences talent is strong. Unemployment in the sector is below 2%, compared to roughly 4% for all professions. That’s despite an increase in U.S. biological and biomedical science graduates over the past decade, up 54% from the 2010-2011 academic year to 173,825 in 2021-2022.
CBRE evaluated the largest 100 U.S. life sciences labor markets against multiple criteria for each of the three specialties. For the R&D subsector, that included the number and concentration of life sciences researchers; number of new graduates, and specifically with doctorate degrees in that field; concentration of all doctorate degree holders; and concentration of jobs in the broader professional, scientific, and technical services professions.
For the manufacturing and medtech sectors, the analysis covered the number and concentration of key professions in the markets.
Research & Development
Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego are the traditional stalwarts in R&D. Washington, D.C., and the New York/New Jersey area also rank highly.
Boston tallies the most bioengineers and biomedical engineers, biochemists, biophysicists, microbiologists, medical scientists and biological technicians of any U.S. market. Meanwhile, New York/New Jersey generates more life sciences graduates than any market.
Manufacturing
The life sciences manufacturing subsector, which includes drug manufacturing as well as cell and gene therapy, has New York/New Jersey, Houston and Philadelphia among its largest markets. Life sciences manufacturing favors markets with large, established bases of manufacturing and distribution labor, such as Houston with its chemical and oil & gas sectors.
Medtech
The medtech subsector is led by Los Angeles/Orange County with nearly 57,000 medtech specialists and Minneapolis/St. Paul with more than 38,000. Together, they account for 37% of the medtech labor pool among the 100 markets in CBRE’s analysis. Leading medtech markets tend to be anchored by big companies.
To read the full report, click here.
Madison ranked 14th in R&D, which focuses on the number of “core” R&D occupations, including biochemists, biophysicists, bioengineers, biomedical engineers, biological scientists and biological technicians, totaling 1,880 employees across all occupations in 2023. Of those occupations, Madison has the highest concentration of microbiologists, chemists and biological technicians of the top 100 markets in part due to highly educated workforce supported by the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
In life science manufacturing, Madison is making its debut in the top 25, ranking 11th. As with R&D, a high concentration of biological and chemical technicians is necessary and are a major factor in manufacturing. Madison has the highest concentration of these technicians among all markets at 0.34%.
In the medtech subsector, which includes designing and producing medical devices, Madison ranked 17th among all 100 markets with more than 5,200 medtech specialists, making it one of only 16 markets to rank in the top 25 in all three industry segments.
“Despite being a smaller market compared to most of the cities in this report, Madison continues to stand out and outperform in several significant metrics across the life science sector,” said Chase Brieman, CBRE Senior Vice President in Madison. “The University of Wisconsin is a key factor in the size and success of Madison’s life sciences industry. In addition to attracting life sciences students from across the country, cutting edge research funded by the University of Wisconsin and the private sector helps to produce technologies and companies that expand locally.”
Nationally
Seven markets ranked within the top 10 of all three subsectors: Boston/Cambridge, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York/New Jersey, LA/Orange County, San Diego, Philadelphia and Chicago. Of those, Boston/Cambridge notched the highest average ranking across the three subsectors.
CBRE also expanded its third-annual analysis to 100 U.S. markets from 74 in last year’s report, thus including up-and-coming markets such as Madison, Wis., and Trenton, N.J.
Overall, U.S. life sciences job growth has been sluggish since interest rates began rising in 2022. The industry’s job growth – specifically in biotechnology R&D and pharmaceutical/medicine manufacturing – amounted to 0.2% since June 2022 after gaining 15.8% in the same period prior to June 2022.
Even so, demand for life sciences talent is strong. Unemployment in the sector is below 2%, compared to roughly 4% for all professions. That’s despite an increase in U.S. biological and biomedical science graduates over the past decade, up 54% from the 2010-2011 academic year to 173,825 in 2021-2022.
CBRE evaluated the largest 100 U.S. life sciences labor markets against multiple criteria for each of the three specialties. For the R&D subsector, that included the number and concentration of life sciences researchers; number of new graduates, and specifically with doctorate degrees in that field; concentration of all doctorate degree holders; and concentration of jobs in the broader professional, scientific, and technical services professions.
For the manufacturing and medtech sectors, the analysis covered the number and concentration of key professions in the markets.
Research & Development
Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego are the traditional stalwarts in R&D. Washington, D.C., and the New York/New Jersey area also rank highly.
Boston tallies the most bioengineers and biomedical engineers, biochemists, biophysicists, microbiologists, medical scientists and biological technicians of any U.S. market. Meanwhile, New York/New Jersey generates more life sciences graduates than any market.
Manufacturing
The life sciences manufacturing subsector, which includes drug manufacturing as well as cell and gene therapy, has New York/New Jersey, Houston and Philadelphia among its largest markets. Life sciences manufacturing favors markets with large, established bases of manufacturing and distribution labor, such as Houston with its chemical and oil & gas sectors.
Medtech
The medtech subsector is led by Los Angeles/Orange County with nearly 57,000 medtech specialists and Minneapolis/St. Paul with more than 38,000. Together, they account for 37% of the medtech labor pool among the 100 markets in CBRE’s analysis. Leading medtech markets tend to be anchored by big companies.
To read the full report, click here.