Atlanta is #9 on CBRE’s Tech Talent Scorecard, part of its annual Scoring Tech Talent Report, which ranks 50 U.S. and Canadian markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent.

Tech labor concentration – or the percentage of total employment – is an influential factor in how “tech-centric” the market is and its growth potential. Atlanta has the ninth largest tech talent labor pool, just behind Seattle and ahead of Los Angeles, and has seen an increase of 29.1 percent over the last five years. The increase is the seventh largest labor pool increase among the large markets during this timeframe.

The top five markets for tech talent in 2019 were the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and New York, all large markets like Atlanta with a tech labor pool of more than 100,000. Atlanta at #9 saw an increase of 31,880 tech jobs over the last five years. That marks the fourth largest market increase among the 50 measured markets. Only San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Toronto added more tech jobs.

In line with job creation in Atlanta is the tech talent creation, with the seventh highest amount of annual tech degree completions in the country. In addition, Atlanta has added 3,500 more jobs than degrees issued, categorizing the market as a “brain gain” market. Along with Toronto and the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta is one of only three of the top 10 tech degree markets to be considered a brain gain area, meaning the other top 10 tech degree markets are considered brain drains with more tech degrees issued than jobs created.

“Atlanta’s tech talent and job growth over the past five years has been outstanding,” said Christian Devlin, CBRE’s tech & Media Practice leader in Atlanta. “The incredible growth in our tech sector is 1.) creating more and more jobs that our tech graduates are likely to select versus moving out of Atlanta for roles with other companies, and 2.) resulting in in-migration of tech talent from other major tech hubs. I believe Atlanta’s special blend of a fast-growing base of high-quality tech talent, relatively low cost of doing business and housing, and strength of its educational institutions like GA Tech will continue make Atlanta a very compelling place for tech companies to grow and thrive.”

In addition to tech talent growth, Atlanta is seeing significant growth among the 20-29 age cohort. Out of all the large tech markets tracked on the report, Atlanta’s young professional growth was ranked sixth when considering the last five years of population change. Its 20-29-year-old growth rate of 10.1percent was more than four times the national average of 2.5 percent. With 21.3 percent of the city’s population falling into that age category, Atlanta represents the sixth most concentrated youth city.

The Tech Talent Scorecard is determined based on 13 unique metrics, including tech talent supply, growth, concentration, cost, completed tech degrees, industry outlook for job growth, and market outlook for both office and apartment rent cost growth.

Atlanta stood out in the report in a number of other key areas:

While Atlanta is ranked in, or near, the Top 10 for most things Teach related, it falls to #22 out of the Top 50 markets for estimated costs to run a tech firm. Out of the Top 10 Tech Talent markets, only Toronto can boast lower estimated costs than Atlanta.

Atlanta is designated a market with Very High-Tech Labor Quality while also having only Moderate Tech Labor Costs. Similar markets are Denver, Raleigh-Durham, Portland and Chicago.

Atlanta is one of the most attractive locations for Tech Talent from a cost of housing perspective, with the average annual rent only representing 15.3 percent of the average annual tech wages. Only Raleigh-Durham can boast a lower ratio from the Top 10 Tech Talent markets.

Atlanta’s business friendly environment and high caliber universities attract and retain tech and non-tech companies in the region.

Top 10 tech talent markets:

CBRE's interactive Tech Talent Analyzer found the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Denver and Austin to be the most competitive markets to hire tech talent based on labor market supply/demand, wage costs and talent quality. 

View the full report here.