Growth in US Life Sciences Jobs Spreads Beyond Sector’s Flagship Markets

A new analysis conducted by CBRE identifies the 25 top U.S. life sciences labor markets - ranging from established hotbeds like Boston to emerging hubs like Pittsburgh - illustrating that the fast-growing industry extends well beyond the coastal research hubs for which it is mostly known.

Overall, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked sixteenth, bolstered by its high job growth in the life sciences sector over the past five years. Life Sciences employment grew from 4,948 in 2015 to 8,050 in 2020—a 62.7% increase—making it the second-highest growth market behind Nashville. The metroplex also ranks as the fourth most favorable market in terms of life sciences research salaries compared to local cost of living, making it an attractive destination for top talent.

“Dallas-Fort Worth has always had a diverse business climate that has allowed for for a multitude of industries to thrive, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Life Sciences employment has increased in our region as the sector has grown significantly across the country,” said Chelsea Story with CBRE in Dallas. “It’s apparent that the higher education system in DFW has effectively partnered with the local business community to respond to the growing need for STEM education to support a local, qualified workforce. This is really just the beginning for all of the Life Sciences growth to come in our market.”

Job growth in life sciences professions – from bioengineers and biochemists to microbiologists and data scientists – expanded by 79 percent since 2001 to roughly 500,000. In comparison, the overall U.S. job growth rate in that span was 8 percent. That surge in life sciences jobs boosted mainstay markets such as Boston and San Francisco as well as emerging hubs including Nashville, Salt Lake City and Houston.

CBRE assessed each market against multiple criteria, including its number of life sciences jobs and graduates, life sciences’ share of each market’s overall job and graduate pool, its number of doctorate degree holders in life sciences, and its concentration of jobs in the broader professional, scientific and technical services professions. The analysis produced CBRE’s inaugural ranking of the leading markets for U.S. life sciences talent.

“There is a conventional view of life sciences that emphasizes large lab markets such as Boston, the Bay Area and San Diego. With this new report, we take a broader view, analyzing life sciences workforces across the U.S. as well as the connection that talent has to how – and where – companies grow,” said Matt Gardner, CBRE Americas Life Sciences Leader.

“It’s also important to keep in mind that the life sciences industry encompasses more than drug development in the lab,” he said. “Major growth drivers for life sciences – even amid market headwinds - include personalized treatment, advanced materials and future foods.”

Another factor reflecting the sector’s growth: the number of U.S. graduates receiving degrees in biological and biomedical sciences reached nearly 164,000 in 2020, twice as many as 15 years earlier. Even with that influx of talent, the unemployment rate for life, physical and social sciences was less than 1 percent as of April 2022.

CBRE’s analysis allows for examination of the 25 markets from various angles. For example, the markets with the greatest percentage gains in life sciences research jobs from 2015 to 2020 were emerging life sciences hubs Nashville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Miami.

A few markets carry a high percentage of life sciences PhDs in relation to the size of their overall life sciences labor pool, often fueled by leading research and higher education institutions. Those include the San Francisco Bay Area, Raleigh-Durham and Houston.

Another unexpected finding likely is relevant for expanding companies; Life sciences wages don’t vary geographically as much as those of many other industries do. Yet the market-to-market variance of cost of living means some markets are more affordable for life sciences workers than others.

                 Largest Gaps Between Average Life Sciences Wages and Cost of Living

The report delves into additional analysis, such as which markets have the highest concentrations of life sciences researchers (led by Boston), which registered the most percentage growth in research talent from 2015 to 2020 (led by Nashville), and which have the highest shares of biomedical and biological PhDs in their life sciences workforces (including Houston, Raleigh-Durham and the San Francisco Bay Area).

“Quality and availability of labor are key considerations for any expanding industry, and that’s certainly the case for life sciences,” said Ian Anderson, CBRE’s Americas Head of Life Science and Healthcare Research. “Lab vacancy rates are tight in most markets, even amid strong construction activity. Expanding life sciences companies can choose from dozens of U.S. markets depending on their labor and real estate needs.”

To read the full report, click here.