Salt Lake City — Salt Lake City moved up four spots to #12 in CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report, a comprehensive analysis of labor market conditions, costs and quality in North America for highly skilled tech workers.
CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report covers 75 North American markets, ranks the top 50 tech markets in the U.S. and Canada and outlines tech talent labor market trends amid economic shifts and increased remote hiring. CBRE also ranks the Next 25 emerging tech markets on a narrower set of criteria. Tech talent is defined as a group of highly skilled workers in more than 20 technology-oriented professions – such as software engineers and systems and data managers – across all industries.
Salt Lake City’s position improved from last year’s ranking due in part to its tech talent job growth. Its tech workforce of 57,560 grew 12.9% from 2018 to 2023. This is an added 6,590 workers.
Overall, the U.S. and Canada added 231,400 tech talent jobs in 2023. The number of U.S. tech talent workers increased 3.6% last year, down from 7.3% in 2022 as the economy cooled. Software developers and programmers across all industries accounted for 72% of the new tech talent jobs last year, with hiring of artificial-intelligence specialists particularly robust.
“Salt Lake City’s impressive climb to no. 12 in CBRE’s Scoring Tech Talent report underscores the city’s dynamic growth and robust tech ecosystem,” said Eric Smith, a Senior Vice President with CBRE’s Tech & Media Practice in Salt Lake City. “The significant increase in tech talent, competitive wages, and high concentration of skilled professionals make Salt Lake City an attractive hub for tech companies. This thriving market offers immense potential for businesses seeking a vibrant and talented workforce to drive innovation.”
Salt Lake City stood out in several key areas:
- Salt Lake City ranked among the top 10 markets for tech degree completions, with 8,841 tech graduates in 2022. It saw a 3% increase in tech degree completions between 2017 and 2022.
- The market created more tech graduates (34,750 from 2018 to 2022) than tech jobs (6,590 from 2019 to 2023), meaning that the market creates a surplus of tech talent for expanding and relocating companies.
- In 2022, Salt Lake City had the highest concentration of residents in their 20s, comprising about 18% of its total population. Its population of residents in their 20s increased by 12%, the third-fastest of any other large tech market, between 2017 and 2022. Its population of residents in their 20s with college degrees increased by 24.8%, the seventh best of any large tech market over the same period.
- Salt Lake City’s average wage for tech talent in the tech industry was $87,984 in 2022.
- The market ranked among the top 15 markets for software engineers. Salt Lake City’s concentration of software engineers employed by the tech industry (57%) outranked the national average (52%).
- The average one-year cost for operating a 500-employee tech company occupying 60,000 square feet in Salt Lake City is $50.5 million, placing the market in the middle of the top 50 markets by this measure.
- Salt Lake City offers affordable living for tech talent workers, with the average annual apartment rent amounting to 17.4% of the average tech-talent wage. That ranks 24th among the 50 largest tech-talent markets.
To download the full report, click here.
Additionally, CBRE’s latest tech talent analyzer provides an interactive, in-depth comparison of tech talent in different markets. For more information, click here.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2023 revenue). The company has more than 130,000 employees (including Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
