8 cities where tech talent is outpacing job growth

Amazon is making headlines as it searches for a new city to call home for its second headquarters. And the obvious cities have been tossed around, such as Boston or San Francisco. But these popular tech cities come with more competition when it comes to scoring local talent — something to consider if your business is looking to expand or is suffering from an IT skills shortage.

So where should you place your hiring bets? TEKsystems analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and CareerBuilder to find “up and coming cities,” where the technology workforce is growing faster than the number of available technology jobs. The results turned up the following eight cities, where businesses will find less competition and a bigger IT talent pool.

Tech talent in Raleigh has grown 17 percent in the past year, with more than 8,300 active candidates on CareerBuilder. The city has seen an increase in web developers (62%), computer systems analysts (43%), computer network architects (46%), network systems administrators (26%) and computer network support specialists (30%). Applications skills saw the biggest growth — there are 8,610 software developers and 7,630 computer systems analysts in Raleigh’s IT workforce; CareerBuilder also reports 3,292 active IT candidates with applications skills.

In Salt Lake City the tech workforce has grown 11 percent in the past year, with a reported 2,776 active IT candidates on CareerBuilder. The city has also seen a 75 percent increase in general tech workers, classified in the report as “all other computer occupations.” For more specific skillsets, there was growth in computer and information systems managers (50%), software developers (42%) and information security analysts (28%).

Jacksonville saw an increase in web developers (19%), information security analysts (20%), database administrators (19%) and telecom line installers and repairers (29%). Overall, the IT workforce grew nine percent in the past year, but TEKsystems still rates this city as “moderately difficult” on the recruiting index. While there are 4,440 active IT candidates on CareerBuilder there were 13,854 IT job postings in the past 12 months, meaning it has slightly more competition than other up and coming cities.

The tech workforce in Sacramento grew by 7 percent in the past year, with over 5,300 active IT candidates on CareerBuilder. Jobs that saw the biggest growth in talent include telecom equipment installers and repairers (29%), telecom line installers and repairers (32%), software developers (27%) and database administrators (13%). Compared to other up and coming metro areas, there were fewer areas of growth and some job titles saw a significant decrease in talent — for example, the number of information security analysts dropped by 40 percent and computer systems analysts dropped 7 percent.

Nashville’s tech population grew by 9 percent in the past year and CareerBuilder reports more than 5,600 active IT candidates. Tech markets that grew the most include general computer occupations (42%), software developers for systems software (32%), computer network architects (28%), telecom line installers and repairers (25%), information security analysts (16%), and computer programmers (14%). The most active candidates are those with development skills — software developers, web developers, computer programmers and computer systems analysts — with a reported 2,092 active candidates on CareerBuilder.

Richmond saw an 11 percent increase in tech workers in the past year and CareerBuilder reports there are 5,479 active job seekers. The talent market grew for information security analysts (32%), computer network support specialists (32%), web developers (31%), software developers (29%), technical writers (25%), computer network architects (23%) and data base administrators (23%). Very few markets saw a notable decrease in talent — network and systems administrators fell by 10 percent, while telecom line installers and repairers dropped 33 percent.

The tech market in Memphis grew 11 percent in the past year, with 2,503 reported tech candidates currently active on CareerBuilder. Job titles that saw the most growth this past year include computer network architects (67%), information security analysts (35%), computer network support specialists (28%) and network and systems administrators (23%).

However, some of the extreme growth in talent markets in Memphis — such as a 67 percent increase in network architects — can be associated with a relatively small workforce. TekSystems reports only 350 computer network architects in total and just 230 information security analysts in Memphis. However, if the growth trend continues year over year, there could potentially be a wealth of candidates to choose from in the coming years. 

In New Orleans, the tech workforce grew 10 percent in the past year, with the biggest increases in talent coming from network and systems administrators (32%), computer user support specialists (32%), data base administrators (22%) and software developers for systems software (19%). However, a number of talent markets declined, including a 44 percent decrease in computer network architects, a 22 percent decrease in web developers and a 19 percent decrease in information security analysts. CareerBuilder reports 1,277 active users, which is less than other cities on this list.