Where are all the U.S. tech jobs? California, of course, and the region shows no sign of losing its dominance, according to a study by job search firm Dice. Dice analyzed 6 million 2019 job postings in the United States in a database provided by Burning Glass Technologies, which aggregated data from employer sites, job boards, and staffing agencies.
While pundits regularly predict that California’s congestion and high cost of housing will drive new regions to take over as the next Silicon Valley, the Dice analysis indicated that California won’t be losing its crown anytime soon.
Top 10 U.S. Tech States, 2019
| 1 | California |
| 2 | Texas |
| 3 | New York |
| 4 | Virginia |
| 5 | Florida |
| 6 | Georgia |
| 7 | North Carolina |
| 8 | Illinois |
| 9 | Ohio |
| 10 | Massachusetts |
Source: Dice
Besides leading Dice’s 2019 ranking for number of job postings for tech professionals, California came close to the top, just behind Florida and Ohio, in year-over-year growth, at 23 percent. And the boom is statewide. While San Francisco had the largest number of job listings, nearby Sunnyvale posted 30 percent year-over-year growth, while sunny San Diego’s tech job listings expanded 37 percent. Young tech professionals are being drawn to the area by these jobs, the Dice report indicated, with San Francisco’s population of 20-to-29-year olds up 13 percent since 2012.
In terms of individual cities, New York beat San Francisco for the second year running, fueled by the presence of Amazon, Google, and a number of startups.
Top 10 U.S. Tech Cities, 2019
| 1 | New York, N.Y. |
| 2 | San Francisco, Calif. |
| 3 | Chicago, Ill. |
| 4 | Atlanta, Ga. |
| 5 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 6 | San Diego, Calif. |
| 7 | Charlotte, N.C. |
| 8 | Austin, Texas |
| 9 | San Jose, Calif. |
| 10 | Seattle, Wash. |
Source: Dice
Nationally, Amazon led the ranks of top U.S. tech employers, followed by General Dynamics, which, the Dice study pointed out, may be due to a recent contract awarded to its electric boat unit, and Verizon. Interestingly, fourth place went to India-based consulting firm Infosys, which has been expanding its U.S. presence.
Top 10 U.S. Tech Employers, 2019
| 1 | Amazon |
| 2 | General Dynamics |
| 3 | Verizon Communications |
| 4 | Infosys |
| 5 | SAIC |
| 6 | Raytheon |
| 7 | Lockheed Martin |
| 8 | Oracle |
| 9 | Leidos |
| 10 | CACI |
Source: Dice
The full Dice report is available here.
Tekla S. Perry is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., she's been covering the people, companies, and technology that make Silicon Valley a special place for more than 40 years. An IEEE member, she holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.
