CBRE Report: DFW One of Best for Tech Talent

Dallas-Fort Worth remains one of the top metro areas for technology talent, according to the “Scoring Tech Talent in North America 2017” report released this week by the real estate company CBRE.

The DFW area ranks No. 10 on the list, with the usual suspects of the San Francisco Bay Area, with score of 81.28, and Seattle, with a score of 67.23, atop the rankings. DFW received a score of 55.4.

In the annual report, CBRE said that DFW had total tech talent in 2016 of 161,150 workers, with 84,750 of them working in computer support, database, and systems. The report said that 49,410 tech workers in DFW were in the software design and programming fields.

TECH TALENT WAS ANALYZED IN TOP 50 METRO AREAS

The report is a comprehensive analysis of labor market conditions, cost, and quality for highly skilled technology workers in the U.S. and Canada, CBRE said. It analyzed the top 50 markets, which were ranked according to their competitive advantages and their appeal to tech workers.

The report also offers insights into the tech talent quality, demographics, and how tech talent growth patterns impact real estate markets and cities.

One of the areas where DFW ranked at the top, was in “brain gain,” the number of tech degree graduates compared with tech job creation in each market.

CBRE noted that tech job growth has accelerated in 28 of 50 markets and that nearly 6 million highly skilled workers make up the tech talent that develops software and devices and provides the innovation we need to manage and ensure the functionality of data and systems in the U.S. and Canada. The report said that 4.9 million workers comprise the U.S. tech talent pool.

Each metro area’s score was determined by 13 metrics that measured each one’s depth, vitality, and attractiveness, CBRE said.

One of the areas where DFW ranked at the top, was in “brain gain,” the number of tech degree graduates compared with tech job creation in each market. DFW was second to San Francisco in that ranking.

Here are the top 10 cities, according to CBRE:

San Francisco Bay
Seattle
New York City
Washington, D.C.
Atlanta
Toronto
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
Austin
Boston
Dallas-Fort Worth

CBRE said these industries are the largest users of tech talent, based on a percentage of the U.S. tech talent pool:

37.1 percent – Core High Tech (computer software and services and computer product manufacturing
10.6 percent – Professional, scientific and technical services
7.9 percent – Fire
6.1 percent – Information
6.1 percent – Government
6 percent – Management of companies and enterprises
5.1 percent – Transportation, warehousing, and wholesale
4.8 percent – Education
4.7 percent – Manufacturing
2.7 percent – Health care
8.9 percent – Other

CBRE said that the tech talent pool continues to grow nationwide.

“The number of tech talent workers has increased by 27 percent in the past five years, adding more than 1 million jobs to the U.S. economy at a pace more than three times the national average,” the report said. “They are fueling new innovation and adapting technology within nontraditional tech sectors to increase productivity and strengthen the national economy.”