Portland has held strong in a new ranking of North America’s 50 tech talent hubs.
The research report from real estate firm CBRE puts the city at 23rd. Portland is the nation's 26th largest city and comprises much of the country's 25th largest metropolitan area.
The Rose City fared best in terms of quality of talent versus cost,. At 68%, it's fourth for highest concentration of software engineers employed in the tech industry, just behind Raleigh-Durham and ahead of Austin.
For the last decade, CBRE has ranked the top 50 North American metros based on ability to attract talent, tech job concentration, tech labor pool and labor and real estate costs. Founders and executives who move tech companies to or open outposts in Portland regularly cite the area's cost of living and deep talent pool.
Portland’s total tech employment of 67,410 has grown over the last five years by 28%, according to the report. The average wage is $100,463, 12.6% higher than in 2017.
Ajay Malhotra, a Portland-based first vice president for CBRE, said the city has added some 3,000 tech talent employees annually. He, in a written statement, cites "the addition of more tech jobs being created compared to the number of tech graduates, a rising and diverse millennial population and a low cost of living for tech talent employees compared to larger, more traditional markets.”
Portland ranked 18th in terms of operational costs for companies with tech talent, just behind Dallas/Ft. Worth and just ahead of Philadelphia.
Other Portland highlights from the report:
- 51% of tech talent is employed within the tech industry
- The highest average wage is for computer and information services managers at $146,450.
- Tech talent workforce across all industries is 70% white, 18% Asian,7% Hispanic and 5% other. Fewer than 2% are Black.
- Tech talent workforce across all industries is 28% female.
- Portland offers the seventh most concentrated market for millennials. The age group makes up 23% of the population.
