In order to find the most favorable markets for tech employment, Zillow analyzed market conditions in 42 large metro areas with a focus on five core factors: housing affordability; market ‘hotness’, or qualities that attract new residents; demographics and labor market dynamics; tech availability; and livability.
Based on this analysis, the top markets for tech expansion are Kansas City and Oklahoma City. Jacksonville, San Antonio and Austin are among the the top ten, while Los Angeles and the Bay Area are hobbled by a severe lack of affordability.
Surprisingly, the markets offering the best balance between these five dimensions are not necessarily those that may be top-of-mind when asked to identify tech hot spots. Markets smack in the middle of the so-called “Silicon Prairie” top the list of those that may appeal to growing tech companies, followed by markets in the Midwest and the South that have the ability to draw talent and the tech companies looking to hire them. Eroding affordability and relatively lackluster quality of life put the nation’s more-stereotypical tech hubs at or near the bottom of the rankings.
