Site Selection magazine has released its second annual “North American Tech Hubs” index, based on data from its resident Conway Projects Database, TeleGeography, CBRE, and CompTIA. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro is ranked No. 1 “for its blend of talent, tech sector growth, and hard tech infrastructure,” the Atlanta-based magazine said.

The Washington, D.C. region ranks No. 2 on the list, with the Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco Bay Area regions rounding out the top five.

How does Site Selection draw a bead on where the hottest tech hubs are located? According to editor-in-chief Adam Bruns, the process involves marrying “the most granular tech infrastructure data (internet exchanges, dark fiber, undersea cable connectivity, etc.) with tech talent metrics and with corporate facility project numbers from tech-aligned industry sectors such as software development, data centers and telecommunications.”

Other cities in what Site Selection called “Tech-xas” also made their marks on the list. Metro Austin places seventh this year. Houston is among the biggest upward movers on the list, rising to No. 10 from No. 16 last year, while San Antonio comes in at No. 22.

Texas lauded for business climate & manufacturing; Dallas is tops in corporate HQs

In addition to Dallas-Fort Worth’s tech hub leadership, Texas also led “a Sunbelt sweep” in Site Selection’s annual Site Selectors Survey, which was also published in the January issue. In a survey of 30 of the country’s leading national site consultants, Texas received the most votes for “Best Business Climate in America,” followed by fellow Southern states Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Tennessee.

Texas came in at No. 1 on the survey for manufacturing projects, followed by North Carolina and South Carolina. And as to corporate headquarters projects, Dallas took the No. 4 spot, after Nashville, Atlanta, and Charlotte.

The survey’s 14 questions focused on the most important location factors (workforce, tax climate and cost of living), looming workforce challenges (labor shortages, affordable housing) and the impact of federal policies in areas such as immigration and tariffs on corporate decision-making.

“Suffice to say that site selection consultants don’t like tariffs,” Site Selection EVP Ron Starner said, “and they are unanimous in stating that their corporate clients—at home and abroad—really don’t like them.”

Site Selection’s January issue also includes 2026 Workforce Development Rankings, with Texas ranked No. 7 in the nation in that category. 

For the full Site Selection North American Tech Hubs Index list, you can go here.

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