The City Beautiful is among the best place for video game industry workers to reach the next level.
The region ranks No. 6 for gamer and developer opportunities, said a study by Washington, D.C.-based personal finance website WalletHub. The city ranked fifth overall best city for gamers out of 100 cities.
For the gamer and developer opportunities ranking, Wallethub took into account several factors including:
- Video game job openings per capita
- Video game internships
- Game industry-related employment
- Video game college program
- Video game companies
- Presence of top 50 best game design and colleges
The region is home to top gaming schools such as Full Sail University in Winter Park and the University of Central Florida's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) in downtown Orlando.
Orlando ranked No. 3 for gaming environment, which took into account factors such as game retail stores, arcades, computer and electronic stores and more. However, the city ranked in the middle of the pack at No. 52 for internet quality and coverage, which was scored by average internet speed, households with broadband connections and cost.
Other Florida cities to make the list for gamer and developer opportunities include Tampa (No. 35), St. Petersburg (No. 39), Hialeah (No. 72), Jacksonville (No. 77) and Miami (No. 86).
The creation of tech jobs is important because they usually pay high wages. Technology sector jobs in Orlando pay an average salary of $88,759, according to a report by Los Angeles-based commercial real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE). That’s more than the metro area’s average annual salary of $48,530, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Orlando ranked the 41st U.S. city for most tech job postings in the first quarter, according to a May 6 report from technology career site Dice.com. Demand for tech workers is healthy in Central Florida, as industry job postings in Orlando grew 21% from February to March. The City Beautiful has the 18th-fastest growth rate, outpacing Dallas and New York City.
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