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Top 25 Cities for Tech Jobs
Photo: Franco Folini | CreativeCommons
Tania Khadder, Anna Hennings, Eric Dahl, Adam Starr, Alice Handley | InsideTech
Now more than ever, it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. And there’s no question about it — when it comes to value, not every U.S. city is created equally.
Why chase a great salary if your rent swallows most of it, unemployment is skyrocketing and you spend two hours a day just to get to and from work?
So, which cities offer the most overall value and best tech jobs in 2009?
InsideTech has come up with the top 25 — and some may surprise you! After examining various city lists, weighing the rankings and taking note of our personal opinions, we’ve produced a list of cities that’s sure to offer something for everyone.
Our Criteria
We looked at cities' growth rates, average salaries and costs of living. We factored in average commute time — which, according to experts, has a colossal impact on your overall happiness. We looked not only at unemployment figures, but also at the rate that unemployment has actually increased since February 2008. Finally, we took note of every cities position on Forbes's Most Wired Cities List and noted which major tech or IT employers were in the area.
Thinking of relocating for better job prospects? Need to compare two top contenders? Just curious to see where your city ranks? We’ve got you covered. Read on!
Start Here! City #25 >>
sap
6 months ago
2 comments
Leaving Chicago off your list discredits it immediately. If you wanted to stir controversy congratulations. Unfortunately for you it seems like Chicago was purposely left off. Next time you are in the city gather your data before getting drunk at the Cubs games. Chicagoans understand the hate, we get it all the time, next time try not to be so blatant about it.
edahl
6 months ago
164 comments
jbarker: Hey, I love Chicago, too (c.f. the hat in my profile photo), but the data just isn't there to support the ranking right now. Highest sales tax rate in the country, rather large unemployment... Don't get me wrong, Chicago isn't far off the bottom end of the list (nor is Minneapolis), but you've gotta cut things off somewhere, and neither made the cut this year.
BTW, the salary is an average for the city, since city-by-city salary data for tech jobs isn't easy to come by and varies drastically by discipline within IT. i.e. not all IT jobs are in equal demand in all cities.
jbarker4682
6 months ago
6 comments
Wow.. no love for either Chicago or the Twin Cities... HUGE tech sectors... and I make a damn sight more than ~50k /year...
ABAP_GUY
6 months ago
4 comments
4 cities in the top 10. It's great to be a Texan! Love the Lone Star State!
edahl
6 months ago
164 comments
Fixed. Thanks.
jlaramee
6 months ago
6 comments
"income to cost of living ratio" = income / (cost of living). If that number is low, that is not a place you want to move to.
ck_asdf
6 months ago
28 comments
Odd ... insidetech - it's spelled "Charlotte," not how you spelled it!
Do you all have editors?
jlaramee
6 months ago
6 comments
Charolette?