Professional Development

DC ranks #2 in the US and Canada for its ability to attract and grow tech talent

In a CBRE report, the District moved up two spots compared to its ranking last year, mainly due to the high concentration of millennials and high-tech degree completions here. 

The D.C. tech talent pipeline ranks high in the nation. (Photo by Pixabay user rupixen, used under a Creative Commons license)

Washington, D.C. has been ranked #2 overall for its ability to attract and grow tech talent in a new report from commercial real estate firm CBRE.

In its annual Tech Talent Scorecard report, the firm ranks the top 50 markets across the U.S. and Canada based on 13 metrics including cost, tech talent supply, completed tech degrees and industry outlook for job growth. The District moved up two spots compared to its overall ranking last year, mainly due to the high concentration of millennials and high-tech degree completions in the past year.

The report may give tech professionals in the region some comfort as the pandemic continues to negatively impact employment across the country.

“We expect that most tech-talent markets and professions will thrive after the pandemic subsides, and many that facilitate remote work and tech services such as ecommerce, social media and streaming services may have even greater growth opportunities accelerated by the COVID-19 disruption,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, in a statement.

D.C. stood out for its growth potential, ranking third nationally in the tech talent labor pool category with 263,670 workers, the report states. Tech professionals account for 8.3% of the overall D.C. workforce compared to the national average of 3.7%. The District is a top producer of tech talent and as more companies shift to remote work, there’s more opportunity to keep tech graduates in the region.

“Markets that have strong innovation infrastructure — leading universities and high concentrations of tech jobs — will lead the next growth cycle,” Yasukochi said.

The overall rankings for the top 10 tech talent markets are:

  1. San Francisco-Bay Area, California
  2. Washington, D.C.
  3. Seattle, Washington
  4. Toronto, Ontario
  5. New York, New York
  6. Austin, Texas
  7. Denver, Colorado
  8. Boston, Massachusetts
  9. Atlanta, Georgia
  10. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Biotech, high chairs and dirty laundry dominate DC Startup and Tech Week’s pitch competition

Not all jobs are the same. Why do workforce agencies treat them like they are?

After nearly a decade, the federal program for immigrant entrepreneurs is finally working

Block the bots or feed them facts? How Technical.ly uses AI in journalism

Technically Media