Philly is ranked 22nd in tech talent attraction and growth

In a new report from commercial real estate firm CBRE, Philly landed the No. 22 spot in a ranking of the 50 U.S. and Canadian markets with the highest rates of talent attraction and growth. In 2018, it came in 24th.

The Scoring Tech Talent report ranks markets according to 13 metrics, including tech talent supply, growth, concentration, cost, completed tech degrees, tech industry outlook for job growth, and market outlook for both office and apartment rent cost growth.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top five markets for tech talent are the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, D.C. and New York — all large markets with a tech labor pool of more than 150,000.

Philly, by contrast, has a tech labor market of 109,670, or a 13.9% growth from 2013 to 2018, per the report. That include more than 35,000 software developers and programmers and nearly 57,000 computer support professionals.

Surely thanks to its proliferation of eds and meds, Philadelphia graduated more than 4,800 new tech degree holders in 2017, up 32% in the past five years — and 7,905 more than the market could employ in tech occupations.

And the city is named the fourth most diverse market for gender diversity, with 28.5% of tech jobs filled by women. (A March report from SmartAsset put Philly third, saying 30.1% of tech jobs are filled by women.)

“There is so much well-earned tech buzz in Philadelphia right now and it is no surprise that we are moving up the tech talent rankings,” said CBRE First VP Rija Beares in a statement. “Not only is Philadelphia growing organically, but it’s poised to attract out of market companies seeking that combination sweet spot of tech talent and a proper city with renowned culture and accessibility.”

View the full report below, or check out individual market stats and rankings, via CBRE’s Tech Talent Analyzer.

Compare all this to some other recent reports on the state of local tech jobs:

• The tech industry has expanded to include 8,060 new jobs in the Philly area since 2013, per a February review of publicly available federal data amassed by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. Tech occupations in the city account for 5% of the area’s net job growth since 2013.
• A June report on tech hiring from Robert Half Technology says Philadelphia is a good place to be if you’re looking for a new role: Sixty percent of Philly-based tech leaders that were surveyed plan on expanding their teams in 2019.
• And Philly landed the No. 8 spot in CBRE’s March ranking of life science clusters in the country, sitting just behind the New York metro area and peeking above Los Angeles and Chicago.