Pittsburgh’s tech scene continues to grow, according to a new report from CBRE.
The report ranks 50 metros in the U.S. and Canada based on their depth, vitality and attractiveness to both companies seeking tech talent and tech professionals who are seeking employment. The 50 metros that were ranked were the 50 largest markets in terms of the number of tech talent professionals who live there.
Size-wise, Pittsburgh ranks at the top of the “small tech talent markets” category, or markets with a tech workforce of fewer than 50,000 professionals. According to the report, there are 43,910 tech professionals in Pittsburgh.
Overall, Pittsburgh ranked at spot No. 26, with a score of 42.88 out of 100. It’s an improvement over its ranking at spot No. 29 in 2021.
The report factored tech talent concentration into its rankings, which is the measurement of how much tech talent accounts for each metro’s employment as a whole. Pittsburgh sat below the 5.6% average in this metric, with a concentration of 4.2%.
The report also included metrics regarding which industries are employing the most tech professionals in each city. In all cities, the tech industry is the No. 1 employer; in fact, 41% of tech talent in the U.S. is employed in the tech industry. In Pittsburgh, 27% of tech talent works in tech — the lowest percentage amongst small tech talent markets. The second largest percentage of tech talent in Pittsburgh, 16.8%, work in finance, insurance and real estate.
In addition to the overall scorecard data, CBRE’s report includes data regarding diversity in each market’s tech talent, as well as the cost for tech companies to operate in each market.
The top five metros for tech talent were the same between 2021 and 2022. They are: San Francisco Bay Area (score: 85.52), Seattle (score: 79.39), Toronto (score: 68.93), Washington (score: 67.88) and New York City (score: 67.08).
