{"id":37559,"date":"2019-12-05T10:14:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T18:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=37559"},"modified":"2019-12-05T10:14:22","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T18:14:22","slug":"austin-claims-top-spot-in-second-annual-comptia-tech-town-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/news\/2019\/12\/austin-claims-top-spot-in-second-annual-comptia-tech-town-index\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Claims Top Spot in Second Annual CompTIA Tech Town Index"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Downers Grove, IL (Dec. 3, 2019)<\/em> \u2014 The eyes of information technology (IT) workers may be focused on Austin, Texas, the top metro market in the United States for IT job opportunities and quality of life considerations, according to the second annual Tech Town Index released today by CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin moves up from number three in the 2018 index to number one in 2019 based in large part on the market\u2019s projected growth rate for new IT jobs \u2013 16 % over the next five years. Other index factors that contributed to Austin\u2019s top ranking include a cost of living lower than the national average and current strong demand for IT workers relative to the number of people employed in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year\u2019s top-ranked Tech Town, Charlotte, North Carolina, slipped to sixth this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four cities join the TechTown Index for the first time, including Columbus, Ohio, which makes an impressive debut at number 12, San Diego, Jacksonville, Florida and Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 2019 Tech Town Index includes a mix of traditional tech hubs, cities that have in recent years flexed their tech industry muscles and new markets that are staking their claims as budding innovation centers,\u201d said Nancy Hammervik, executive vice president for industry relations at CompTIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe clear takeaway is that there are opportunities for challenging, rewarding and well-paying tech jobs across the United States,\u201d Hammervik continued. \u201cWhether you\u2019re working in IT today, or contemplating employment in tech, there\u2019s a great chance that you can find a locale that offers you the opportunity to attain your career aspirations while living in an environment that accommodates your lifestyle preference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the complete CompTIA Tech Town Index for 2019, with last year\u2019s ranking in parentheses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Austin, Texas (3)
2. Raleigh, North Carolina (2)
3. San Jose, California (4)
4. Seattle (7)
5. San Francisco (5)
6. Charlotte, North Caroliba (1)
7. Dallas, Texas (6)
8. Atlanta (9)
9. Denver (8)
10. Huntsville, Alabama (10)
11. Washington, D.C. (11)
12. Columbus, Ohio (NR)
13. Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina (15)
14. Boulder, Colorado (19)
15. Boston (17)
16. Colorado Springs, Colorado (20)
17. San Diego (NR)
18. Jacksonville, Florida (NR)
19. Tampa, Florida (NR)
20. Baltimore (16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four markets that made the 2018 list dropped off the index in 2019 \u2013 Des Moines, Iowa (12), Lansing, Michigan (13), Madison, Wisconsin (14) and Trenton, New Jersey (18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. job market for technology workers is robust. In Q3 2019 there were nearly 900,000 core IT job postings, according to CompTIA\u2019s analysis of data from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights. That represented 10% of all job postings across the country and is 9% higher than in Q3 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Software development is the area where most companies expect to place their focus in the upcoming year, but there is also strong demand for cybersecurity, data and IT infrastructure workers, according to CompTIA\u2019s \u201cIT Industry Outlook 2020\u201d report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights from the Index<\/p>\n\n\n\n