Des Moines Ranks No. 15 on CBRE’s List of Emerging Tech Talent Markets

Des Moines ranks No. 15 on CBRE’s list of up-and-coming tech-talent markets in the annual Scoring Tech Talent report, which ranks 75 U.S. and Canadian markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent. Des Moines moves up one spot as local tech employment has grown by 8% in the past three years and its tech wages have increased by 13.6%.

The report identifies emerging tech hubs across the U.S. and Canada, from Huntsville in the Southeast to Albany in the Northeast to Las Vegas in the West. Canada landed three cities on the list.

These up-and-coming markets are separate from the 50 larger tech markets that CBRE’s report ranks in its Tech Talent Scorecard. In contrast, the ‘next 25’ markets are ranked by a narrower set of criteria than the top 50, including tech talent supply, wages, tech talent concentration, recent tech talent growth rates and their outlook.

Overall U.S. tech talent employment grew only 1.1% (64,140 jobs) in 2024, far below its peak in 2022 (+7%). Canada had stronger growth (+5.9%) than the U.S., adding 66,600 tech talent jobs overall, primarily in the high-tech industry. The number of computer and information systems managers surged in the U.S. (+9%) and Canada (+16%) due to the widespread adoption of AI, making that job the fastest growing among all tech talent roles across North America. In 2024, computer and information systems managers accounted for 83% of U.S. tech talent job growth.

“The AI industry could be the catalyst for another growth cycle among office-using companies, boosting the office market’s recovery,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.

Des Moines also stood out in the report in other key areas:

• Des Moines’ total tech employment of 19,550 was the 11th largest of the emerging markets, behind markets such as Huntsville; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Colorado Springs; Providence; Winnipeg, Manitoba; London, Ontario; Las Vegas; Omaha; and Rochester.
• Its average tech wage of $106,148 was the 11th highest among the emerging markets.
• Des Moines’ average software developer wage of $112,706 has grown by 26.3% since 2021, which is the fifth highest growth rate among emerging markets.