Best Cities for Technology Jobs - 7 High-Tech Cities

If you want to relocate to a tech-savvy city--a cityTriangle Park--a well-known biotech, business and
that offers great prospects for technologyresearch center. 44% of Raleigh residents age 25
talent--then you'll love the seven cities listed below.and older hold bachelor's degrees. Notable companies
Each of the 7 cities below have above-averagein the Triangle area include: Cisco, IBM, Lenovo, SAS,
brainpower (smart populations), great technologyProgress Energy, NetApp, and RBC Centura.
infrastructure, and a growing technology job sector.5. Atlanta, GA - Atlanta is rapidly becoming one of
1. Seattle, WA - Forty seven percent of Seattle'sthe fastest growing metropolitan cities in the
population holds a bachelor's degree or higher, makingSoutheast and is a virtual hotbed for technology
Seattle the "brain-iest" city in the U.S. Seattle isworkers. Forty-two percent of Atlanta residents hold
well-known for its technology infrastructure (wirelessa bachelor's degree or higher, and Atlanta is home to
city), and growing tech industry. Microsoft andGeorgia Tech and Georgia State. Notable companies
Nintendo are both located in Redmond, just outsideheadquartered in Atlanta include: AT&T, CNN,
of Seattle. Notable technology companies locatedCox Communications, Lucent Technologies, Data
within (or nearby) Seattle include Real Networks,General, Hewlett-Packard, Earthlink, Home Depot,
Tmobile, Amazon, Clearwire, Infopop, Zillow.com, andDelta Airlines, Lockheed Martin (in Marietta), Siemens,
Just like San Jose and San Francisco, Seattle seemsSunTrust Bank, Equifax, and
to attract many internet startups.6. Colorado Springs, CO - Colorado can be described
2. Austin, TX - Like Seattle, more than 40% ofas a small-scale Seattle--a rapidly growing technology
Austin's population holds a bachelor's degree. This iscenter that is attracting highly educated workers.
one of the highest percentages in the nation. AustinColorado Springs is known for its aerospace research
is the state capital and attracts talent from Theand military installations including the North American
University of Texas at Austin and Texas A& MAir Defense Command (NORAD), Fort Peterson Air
University (Texas A&M is located in neighboringForce Base, and The U.S. Air Force Academy. This
College Station). The weather is warm and sunny inmountain city has the lowest percentage of high
Austin, and Texas has no state income tax. Notableschool dropouts. (It is one of just two places with a
technology/engineering companies headquartered indropout rate below 10 percent.) Notable companies in
Austin include Dell Computers, National Instruments,Colorado Springs include: Hewlett-Packard and 17
and Austin Semiconductors.other major electronics companies which combined
3. San Francisco Bay Area, CA - San Francisco hasemploy over 10,000 people. Other companies with a
always attracted people with intellectual andpresence in the city include Oracle, T. Rowe Price,
technology talent. Forty-five percent of SanProgressive Insurance, and Amtel.
Francisco's residents hold bachelor's degrees, second7. Washington, D.C. - It's no surprise that Washington
only to Seattle, and The City by the Bay ranks thirdD.C. has a strong technology industry since the city is
for its concentration of graduate and professionalhome to the federal government, world-renown
degrees. The infamous dot-com era began in Sanresearch institutes, lobbying firms, and one of the
Francisco, and to this day, many internet andhighest concentrations of law offices. More than
software companies are headquartered in the Bayone-fifth of D.C. residents have graduate or
Area. Notable companies include: BitTorrent, Craigslist,professional degrees, and notable companies in D.C.
Blogspot, Digg, Google, Linden Lab (Second Life),include: XM Satellite Radio, Carlyle Group, CSPAN,
Salesforce.com, Typepad, Technorati, Cnet, SBCLincoln Group, Allbritton Communications Company,
Communications, and Sega.and Blue State Digital.
4. Raleigh-Durham, NC - Raleigh-Durham, also knownAre these the only options for top technology cities?
as "The Triangle," attracts some the brightest mindsOf course not - here are some other top technology
due to its proximity to 3 major universities (Dukecities and top "smart" cities Explore your options, and
University, NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill), and Researchsee which city is the right fit for you.