Baltimore-area employers posted 42K tech jobs over 12 months: report

Baltimore-area employers posted more than 42,000 tech jobs over the 12 months ending in July, and grew by 10 percent over the previous year.
That’s according to a new study on the “Top 20 Tech Towns” by IT trade association CompTIA, which ranked Baltimore number 16. The study aims to help IT workers make decisions about where to live and work. Cities were ranked based on cost of living, number of open IT positions and projected job growth over the next 12 months and next five years. It uses data from Burning Glass and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The study shows the following data for the metro area, which encompasses the city as well as surrounding counties:

• In all, 42,097 tech jobs were posted in Baltimore over the year from August 2017-July 2018.
• The median salary for IT professionals in Baltimore is $93,080. That’s slightly lower than other East Coast cities explored.
• IT jobs in Baltimore are expected to grow eight percent over the next five years.
• Cost of living in the area is about 33 percent higher than the national average, and local workers make $6.17 more per hour than the national average, per the report.

On the whole, the Baltimore area’s federal agencies, contracting companies and higher education institutions continue to be a driver of the tech workforce, said Spencer Bone, director of AITP Membership Marketing at CompTIA. Top hiring employers include Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Grumman, ManTech International Corp., Leidos and CSRA.The study cited data from the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore showing that the area ranks third when it comes to the number of residents with bachelor’s degrees in math or computer science.
“These specializations are critical to the fast-growing cyber industry, in which the city has more than double the national density of professionals,” the report states. Leaders pointed to some of those statistics last week when announcing plans to turn Port Covington into “Cyber Town, USA.”
Read the report
On the whole, the report reflected geographic diversity in tech towns across the U.S. In all 14 states and D.C. were represented, Bone said.

The top-ranked cities were both in North Carolina:  Charlotte was number one, while Raleigh came in at number two. Meanwhile, San Francisco and San Jose were number four and five, respectively.
“For individuals who are looking to jumpstart a career in tech, they have more opportunities than ever,” said Bone.