Charlotte's tech talent continues to impress, based on new data recently released by CBRE.
The annual report ranks the top 50 cities for tech talent in the United States and Canada. The rankings are based on data from CBRE's own research, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, among others. Charlotte ranked 27th on this year's list. The San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Toronto and New York City rounded out the top five.
Among the biggest takeaways from this year's report was the amount of growth in tech talent among local people ages 23 to 38. Since 2014, Charlotte's millennial tech workforce grew by 17% — or more than 85,400 people — making it eighth overall among the list's 30 large tech talent markets.
"That’s the part that’s just not surprising at all to me," said Joe Franco, CBRE senior vice president. "When you look at the makeup of Charlotte, you do see a lot of younger folks, a lot of energy, and to me that’s what’s spurring the additional growth. It’s not difficult to fall in love with what you see."
Franco, who is based in Charlotte, said more and more young tech professionals are moving to the Charlotte region right out of college because the jobs are already here and continuously coming.
"As it relates to the number of young people, I’m assuming that’s a direct result of the demand in the region. If people aren’t here already, they want to move here and then the companies are coming, and it sort of snowballs," he said. "Robinhood and Arrival, these are the types of companies that are coming here."
Charlotte ranked second in tech talent diversity, just behind Pittsburgh. Charlotte’s tech talent employment from underrepresented groups — identified in the report as Hispanic, Black or other nonwhite and non-Asian workers — is 25.5% of its workforce. That's 0.8% more than underrepresented groups in "office-using" employment. CBRE used office-using employment as the benchmark for comparison and identified those industries as ones that primarily use office space for their operations including information, professional and business services, and financial activities.
The city ranks 18th in tech talent wages, with an average salary of just under $100,000 per year. This is on par with the average salary for tech talent in Atlanta and Portland, Oregon, according to the report. The Bay Area ranks highest, with an average annual salary of more than $144,000.
Franco said Charlotte is the type of city that he believes has a long-term future in tech.
"From an in-general standpoint, I feel like this city can grow by two and three fold, and quite frankly we’ve had the benefit of being able to watch bigger cities that have grown quickly and being able to learn from their mistakes," he said. "The Charlotte region is a wonderful place to be able to establish roots long-term. It really does check all the boxes that people in the mid-20s to mid-40s want in a city.
Franco added, "Charlotte is the type of city where you can make a name for yourself quickly. You don’t have to be grinding for 25 years."
