Denver's ability to attract skilled technology workers landed it this week on a list of the top 46 tech cities across the globe and the top 16 in the United States.
The real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield analyzed tech talent data from 115 cities around the world when making its list, which was released Monday. The firm evaluated each city for its workforce, real estate and overall business environment.
The firm said Denver — as well as Nashville, Tennessee, Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City — were experiencing "immense tech sector growth."
"While these cities are not replacing the traditional tech hubs, they are becoming the hot spots of growth for tech talent due to high quality of life, lower cost of living, proximity to centers of education and access to recent graduates," the report reads.
Denver and Boulder, which were grouped together in the report, ranked ninth among U.S. cities with the deepest talent pools and ranked 29th globally.
Cushman & Wakefield analyzed the numbers of computer programmers, IT network professionals and analysts and data scientists to determine the top cities. Those jobs provide a "key catalyst" for continuous growth in the tech industry, the report states. The talent pool depth in Denver and Boulder totaled 74,111, and the average salary for those workers is $117,953.
Among U.S. cities, Denver has a larger tech talent pool than Houston, Texas, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Austin, according to the report. San Francisco has the biggest tech talent pool in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. Across the globe, Tokyo, Beijing and London took the top spots.
The report credited the talent pool in Denver and Boulder to educational institutions in the area, including the University of Colorado, University of Denver and Colorado State University. It noted that more tech workers have moved to the area because they're drawn to the year-round outdoor activities.
Cushman & Wakefield also cited Denver's cost of living as a benefit. Though rental rates in Denver have increased more than 5% this year and the consumer price index is rising 8.9%, the report's authors argued that the area still has a lower cost of living than many of the other cities that made their list.
"The region's ability to produce and attract talent, more affordable real estate, favorable incentives and strong incubator and startup environments continue to drive tech company expansions," the report says of Denver and Boulder.
Cushman & Wakefield analyzed real estate cost and availability for the report. The firm said that the tech industry accounts for a larger portion of major economies and commercial real estate than ever before.
The majority of tech offices around Denver are located in either the city of Boulder or Denver's Central Business District. Those hubs have captured about two-thirds of tech-sector leasing activity over the past five years, according to the report.
The report found that Google has the largest presence in the Denver and Boulder tech market when accounting for square footage. Google has about 640,000 square feet in Boulder. It's followed by Apple's combined 240,000 square feet in Boulder and Denver's Central Business District.
The report lists amazon, Gusto, Zoom, Robinhood, Guild Education, SendGrid, RingCentral and Ping Identity as each having a large physical presence in the market.
