Dallas-Fort Worth is among the top 10 markets in North America when it comes to tech talent growth.

According to Dallas-based CBRE’s most recent annual Scoring Tech Talent report, the region now stands in the No. 9 spot, jumping up four places from last year’s report—one of the biggest gains seen by any metro area.

Over the past five years, Dallas-Fort Worth’s talent pool has grown by nearly 15%, with close to 188,000 residents employed in the industry. In that same timeframe, tech salaries grew by 12.6% to an average of around $103,500 per year.

Of those employed in the local tech industry, the report says 37% are employed in “core high-tech” spaces. The second largest tech employment space in the region was finance, insurance, and real estate.

In addition to seeing growth in the tech talent pool, the report notes that the region is likely to see that continue, as DFW saw a more than 50% increase in tech degree completions between 2015 and 2020—marking the sixth largest increase among other North American metros.

DFW ranks No. 5 for women in the tech workforce

The region’s talent pool is growing, the report notes, and North Texas is the fifth-most diverse large market when it comes to women in the tech workforce, who make up nearly 27% of the region’s total. But while underrepresented groups make up 36.6% of the local tech talent pool, DFW was ranked as the fifth least diverse large market.

According to the Dallas Business Journal, which cites CBRE leaders, the region’s rise in the rankings can be attributed to things like its relatively low cost of living and “business-friendly climate” that help attract and retain residents.

Using 13 metrics that look at a region’s “vitality and attractiveness to companies” looking for tech workers, CBRE gave DFW an overall score of 58.57, putting it ahead of No. 10 Denver’s 57.53 and behind No. 8 Vancouver’s 62.19. Unsurprisingly, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, followed by Toronto. 

The only other Texas city in the top 10 was Austin, which came in at No. 6.

“There are economic headwinds that may impact tech talent hiring in the year ahead. Announced layoffs and hiring slowdowns and freezes by tech employers may, if sustained, loosen the tight labor market,” the report states. “Longer term, tech will continue to grow from further technological advances and adoptions.

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