Dallas-Fort Worth has the largest tech labor force in the South, the fifth largest in North America, and the most affordable large market in the nation, according to a new report from CBRE.

CBRE’s sixth-annual Scoring Tech Talent in North America ranks 50 U.S. and Canadian markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent and showed Dallas competing well with other tech markets.

Source: CBRE

The report listed the San Francisco Bay Area as the top-ranked tech talent market, followed by Seattle, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and New York. Austin ranked sixth and was the only Texas market to crack the top 10. Dallas-Fort Worth ranked 12^th.

Last year, DFW ranked No. 10 on the CBRE list.

The 2018 report noted that DFW increased the number of tech degree graduates by 81 percent in the last five years — the fastest growth of all tech talent markets.

In Dallas, tech jobs comprise 4.6 percent of total jobs and pay an average of $96,600. From 2012 to 2017, the tech talent pool in DFW rose by 15.3 percent, according to the report, an increase of 21,400 people.

In its report, CBRE combined wage and real estate costs to gain insight into what a tech company might pay to operate in one or more of the top-50 tech talent markets.

“Dallas-Fort Worth has been fortunate to attract a number of corporate relocations in recent years,” said Clay Vaughn, senior vice president with CBRE’s Tech & Media Practice in Dallas. “With our large and growing tech market, one of the most business-friendly climates in the country and an affordable cost of doing business, DFW will continue to be a favorite location for relocations and expansions,” he said.

The scorecard looked at 13 unique metrics, including tech talent supply, growth, concentration, cost, completed tech degrees, industry outlook for job growth, and market outlook for both office and apartment rent cost growth.

“DFW is a big producer of tech talent, which makes the area very attractive to tech companies, especially considering that labor markets are so tight,” said Jeff Eiting, first vice president with CBRE‘s Tech & Media Practice in Dallas.

“The availability of talent is the most important factor for growing companies in Dallas or those looking to move to our market. Not only does Dallas have one of the largest tech labor pools in the country, we also ranked No. 1 in the country for tech degree growth so we’re adding to that labor force each year.”