---
title: The 20 Hottest Cities for Tech Jobs Now
description: As Silicon Valley's job market tumbles, tech workers are turning outside the Bay Area. Some surprising cities are answering the call.
authors:
  - name: Kristen Bahler
    role: Managing Editor
    url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/
    bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel.
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published: '2017-06-12T14:30:32.000Z'
modified: '2024-05-16T12:29:14.000Z'
section: Technology
tags:
  - Careers
  - tech jobs
word_count: 1107
canonical: https://money.com/top-20-cities-tech-jobs/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

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![170612-tech-cities-huntsville-alabama](https://img.money.com/2017/06/170612-tech-cities-huntsville-alabama.jpg)
*U.S. Space and Rocket Center Huntsville, AL with highway traffic.*

A diaspora of tech talent, driven by Silicon Valley's [tumbling job market](http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/10/tech-job-growth-slows-in-bay-area/) and sky-high rents*,* has pushed tech job seekers to some surprising places.

Job search site ZipRecruiter recently analyzed its database of more than 8 million active jobs, and ranked the 20 fastest-growing tech markets based on year-over-year data. Job growth for engineering, software, and IT roles may be losing steam in the Bay Area, but smaller cities are picking up the slack, the company says,

Huntsville, Ala. topped the list, with over 300% tech job growth from 2016 to 2017. Thousand Oaks, Calif. (200%) came in second, followed by Phoenix, Ariz. (188%).

"The tech industry is no longer bound to the coast," says ZipRecruiter’s Chief Economic Adviser, Cathy Barrera. "As a result, we’re seeing the tech industry expand out of the major metropolis areas, and into smaller regional cities that have since flown largely under the radar."

Many of the cities on ZipRecruiter's list are in the Midwest — Kansas City, Kan., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. are three standouts. The South also had a strong showing, with Nashville, Tenn. and three cities in Florida (Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa) all making the cut.

Barrera credits government policies, like tax breaks that attract entrepreneurs and business startups for much of this growth. But the main impetus, she says, is the skyrocketing cost of living in coastal tech hubs like San Francisco and New York.

The median home price of a home in Huntsville hovers around $150,000, according to the report — a fraction of the [$1.5 million](https://sf.curbed.com/2017/6/7/15758460/median-home-price-sf) it costs to buy a home in the Bay Area.

"Big cities can only grow so much — and at a certain point, the skyrocketing living costs make it nearly impossible to find a job with a salary you can live off," Barrera says.

Here's the full list, complete with average salary (as per [PayScale](http://www.payscale.com/)), rent, and home costs:

## **1\. Huntsville, AL**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Software Engineer
-   Systems Engineer
-   Systems Specialist
-   Help Desk Support
-   Information Technology Specialist

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 309%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $59,500

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $96,400

**Median rent:** $950

**Median home price:** $152,170

* * *

## **2\. Thousand Oaks, CA**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Network Engineer
-   Project Manager Coordinator
-   Quality Assurance Specialist
-   Software Test Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 200%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $59,500

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $105,000

**Median rent:** $3,200

**Median home price:** $673,000

* * *

## **3\. Phoenix, AZ**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Software Developer
-   Data Analyst
-   SQL Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 188%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $58,400

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $96,800

**Median rent:** $1,345

**Median home price:** $216,000

* * *

## **4\. Albany, NY**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   SQL Developer
-   ERP Engineer
-   Software Developer
-   Software Tester

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 161%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $55,200

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $87,000

**Median rent:** $1,625

**Median home price:** $175,000

* * *

## **5\. Kansas City, MO**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Network Engineer
-   Project Coordinator
-   Developer
-   Web Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 157%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $57,200

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $89,500

**Median rent:** $895

**Median home price:** $207,107

* * *

## **6\. Orlando, FL**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Project Engineer
-   Network Engineer
-   Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 149%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $52,800

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $87,400

**Median rent:** $1,500

**Median home price:** $210,000

* * *

## **7\. Salt Lake City, UT**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Software Engineer
-   Project Manager
-   Developer
-   Project Engineer
-   Technical Support Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 117%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $58,200

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $97,800

**Median rent:** $1,495

**Median home price:** $533,800

* * *

## **8\. Nashville, TN**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Senior Net Developer
-   Network Administrator
-   Project Engineer
-   Desktop Support Technician

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 114%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $54,700

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $90,200

**Median rent:** $1,700

**Median home price:** $269,700

* * *

## **9\. Jacksonville, FL**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   System Administrator
-   Systems Engineer
-   Desktop Support Technician
-   Implementation Consultant

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 111%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $52,000

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $89,200

**Median rent:** $1,200

**Median home price:** $170,000

* * *

## **10\. Baltimore, MD**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Network Engineer
-   System Administrator
-   Software Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 109%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $62,500

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $105,000

**Median rent:** $1,375

**Median home price:** $196,900

* * *

## **11\. Cincinnati, OH**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Quality Engineer
-   Software Engineer
-   Lead Applications Developer
-   Scrum Master

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 96%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $55,500

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $90,400

**Median rent:** $1,095

**Median home price:** $137,50

* * *

## **12\. Cleveland, OH**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Quality Engineer
-   Developer
-   Quality Technician
-   Software Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 84.3%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $52,100

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $86,700

**Median rent:** $1,000

**Median home price:** $75,000

* * *

## **13\. Indianapolis, IN**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Quality Technician
-   Quality Engineer
-   Data Analyst
-   Net Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 84.1%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $55,400

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $89,400

**Median rent:** $1,000

**Median home price:** $180,715

* * *

## **14\. Columbus, OH**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Network Engineer
-   Quality Engineer
-   Application Developer
-   Java Developer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 83%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $56,600

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $93,400

**Median rent:** $1,045

**Median home price:** $139,60

* * *

## **15\. Denver, CO**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Network Engineer
-   Developer
-   Software Engineer
-   Systems Administrator

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 81.4%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $62,300

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $103,000

**Median rent:** $2,100

**Median home price:** $372,500

* * *

## **16\. Detroit, MI**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Quality Engineer
-   Systems Engineer
-   Application Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 81.1%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $59,600

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $94,400

**Median rent:** $750

**Median home price:** $57,000

* * *

## **17\. Tampa, FL**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Systems Administrator
-   Project Coordinator
-   Data Analyst
-   Network Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 80.9%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $52,700

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $90,600

**Median rent:** $1,495

**Median home price:** $202,750

* * *

## **18\. Providence, RI**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Senior Net Developer
-   Business Information Analyst
-   Quality Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 79%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $55,400

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $90,500

**Median rent:** $1,800

**Median home price:** $194,250

* * *

## **19\. Seattle, WA**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Software Engineer
-   Software Development Engineer
-   Developer
-   Technical Services

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 74.9%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $76,200

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $117,000

**Median rent:** $2,700

**Median home price:** $620,000

* * *

## **20\. Chicago, IL**

**Top tech jobs:**

-   Project Manager
-   Quality Engineer
-   Network Engineer
-   Devops Engineer
-   Software Engineer

**Growth in tech jobs YoY:** 74.1%

**Early Career Median Pay:** $62,200

**Mid Career Median Pay:** $102,000

**Median rent:** $1,750

**Median home price:** $270,000

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