The largest tech talent hub in the Pacific Northwest is Seattle, where a number of top corporations have their headquarters.
Technologists are in high demand. It is estimated that 6.5 million tech workers work in the United States and Canada. According to CBRE research, the United States has the biggest tech talent market. IT workers in different cities have changed over time, according to the report, as well as the sector’s overall labor force.
By taking into account factors such as cost of living, average educational attainment, and the proportion of tech jobs in various industries, the report categorizes which metro areas and regions can legitimately be regarded as tech hubs in the first place.
America’s top tech talent hub
Silicon Valley remains the highest-paid tech region in the United States due to its talent pool of roughly 380,000 tech professionals.
According to the number of workers, these are the main tech talent marketplaces in the nation:
| Market | Total number of Tech Talent | % of Talent Growth (2016 to 2021) |
| New York Metro | 344,520 | 3% |
| Los Angeles | 235,800 | 10% |
| Denver | 117,620 | 23% |
| Washington D.C. | 259,310 | 6% |
| Seattle | 189,570 | 32% |
| Chicago | 167,560 | 6% |
| Boston | 166,450 | 2% |
| Dallas/Ft. Worth | 187,950 | 15% |
| Atlanta | 145,080 | 7% |
| SF Bay Area | 378,870 | 13% |
Despite having the majority of software talent concentrated in the nation’s huge coastal cities, mid-sized innovation hubs such as Salt Lake City, Portland, and Denver have seen impressive growth in recent years. The Seattle area has experienced exceptional growth over the past five years, with 32% for Amazon and 32% for Microsoft.
Tech clusters are emerging in regions like Raleigh-Durham. They have a solid talent pipeline, with math/statistics and computer engineering degree completion rates rising by 28% per year between them until 2020. There are nearly 70,000 IT workers in the two cities. It is true that North Carolina is evolving into a more desirable business center as a whole.
This list only has one city with a negative growth rate, Houston, with -2%.
Canada’s top tech talent hub
Canada is rapidly becoming the next major location for tech talent, thanks to companies like Google, meta, and amazon. Below is a list of four tech hubs in the nation with more than 50,000 workers:
| Market | Total Tech Talent | % Talent Growth (2016-2021) |
| Montreal | 148,900 | 27% |
| Toronto | 289,700 | 44% |
| Ottawa | 81,200 | 22% |
| Vancouver | 115,400 | 63% |
88,900 tech jobs were added in Toronto in 2021. CBRE ranks the largest city in Canada’s tech sector as the third largest cluster in North America, behind the San Francisco Bay Area and New York city
Vancouver’s IT talent population increased by 63% from the initial estimate. As a result, the city is now home to some of Seattle’s most prestigious tech companies, such as Microsoft and Amazon. Moreover, Google plans to connect Canada and Asia with a high-speed fiber optic cable undersea with a Vancouver terminal.
Additionally, Ottawa has made significant efforts to improve its tech skills and establish itself as a technology leader. A large percentage of tech professionals are employed in the nation’s capital due to Shopify’s success.
The concentration of tech employment in Waterloo, a tiny but well-known tech city, was unusually high (9.6%). An 8% increase in tech jobs has been recorded in the area over the last five years.
The majority of tech workers are concentrated in six of Canada’s top ten cities. For Individuals who intend to start their career in the tech sector, this is a great time to start. To start your career in the tech sector in Canada you have to obtain a Canadian Permanent Residency. The best and quickest method of obtaining PR in Canada is through the PNP – (Provincial Nominee Program).
Technology hubs: An evolution
As technology centers have evolved since the COVID era, they have become more complex. While remote work is inevitable, traditional tech centers are experiencing a small reduction in tech professionals as workers move to cheaper locations to find comfort.
It may not be apparent that IT talent is migrating to smaller cities across the country, but the rise of high-paying IT jobs in these cities may indicate a trend.
Tech companies are moving to new locations such as Charlotte, Tennessee, and Calgary, but will big companies and startups prefer large coastal cities as more workers choose affordable places to stay and work remotely, with tremendous skill, resources, and education?
