Tech salaries vary widely around the nation, but no matter where you are, employees with tech skills are earning a much higher wage than their non-tech counterparts.
That's the takeaway from a new deep dive into tech salaries by tech trade association CompTIA, which found the median tech wage of $100,615 was 103% higher than the median national wage.
The data is from 2021, which is the most recent available, but the hot talent market of the past two years likely took the median significantly higher — with tech industry workers seeing some of the most substantial gains, according to recruiters.
But there are signs some of those gains are slowing.
The tech landscape has continued to evolve this year, with challenging conditions pushing layoffs across the sector.
And some companies, like Microsoft Corp., are pausing salary hikes this year. Microsoft also said performance bonuses for executives will be down considerably compared to the year before.
Meanwhile, experts have told The Playbook that many companies are dialing back on the aggressive raises of the past two years — although they've noted workers with specific, in-demand skills are often an exception, depending on the market.
Top states for tech salaries
Tech workers in Washington state have the highest median wage in the country at nearly $130,000, according to CompTIA's data.
Wages in the Pacific Northwest state outpaced median pay in Washington, D.C., California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, the next four highest for tech wages. Tennessee is farther down on the list, with a median tech wage of $74,837. Still, this is 97% higher than the median state wage.
The lowest paying states for tech workers are South Dakota, Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana, and West Virginia, which all have a median tech wage of less than $70,000.
Those wages are, however, significantly more than each state's median wage for all workers. In Mississippi, the $66,901 tech wage is more than 100% higher than the state's overall median wage.
Top cities for tech
At a time when the tech sector is in flux, CompTIA's analysis also shows which cities could be most vulnerable to the industry's challenges.
Specifically, the data showed the cities where tech represents the largest portions of the local economy.
Not surprisingly, San Jose and San Francisco are in the top three, along with Seattle, home to tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft.
Here are the top 10 cities where tech represents the largest portion of the local economy, according to CompTIA.
1. San Jose, California, 57.1%
2. Seattle, Washington, 28.9%
3. San Francisco, California, 26.8%
4. Austin, Texas, 23.8%
5. Raleigh, North Carolina, 16.5%
6. Boston, Massachusetts, 14.6%
7. Portland, Oregon, 14.4%
8. Denver, Colorado, 13.1%
9. Washington, D.C., 12.9%
10. Atlanta, Georgia, 12.1%
Memphis, for its part, recorded a median tech wage of $71,321 — 85% higher than the median metro wage.
The Bluff City's tech sector had an estimated $2.8 billion economic impact, which represented 3.1% of the overall economy. Memphis has also grown its tech employment over time.
In 2017, the metro area had 18,591 tech employees, and by 2021, that number had increased to 20,209. In 2022, it added an estimated 553 tech jobs, and it's projected to add another 532 in 2023.
