Best Emerging Tech Hubs For Hiring Top Talent

Gone are the days where all top tech companies are based in Silicon Valley. And that means top tech talent is no longer centralized there either. Across America, top tech talent are living and working in rapidly growing tech hubs.

Plus, with the rise of remote work, the best talent is distributed across the nation. The challenge is for talent teams to find them. So we’ve partnered with our friends at Venture For America to highlight 10 emerging tech hubs with incredible talent pools. 

10 Emerging Tech Hubs With Top Tech Talent

Detroit

Home to a rapidly growing mobility tech scene, Detroit is rife with top tech talent. Educated at top engineering schools like the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, or Michigan Tech, Detroit’s tech talent is diverse, highly skilled, and has experience that expands across industries. Additionally, Metro Detroit ranks #3 in the U.S. for tech talent cost versus quality. The area’s 5 unicorn companies have also developed and spawned exceptional talent. 

Cleveland

Cleveland has steadily been growing as an emerging tech hub over the last decade. Between 2016 and 2021, Cleveland’s tech workforce grew by 25%, which is significantly above the national average of 12.8%. The city’s unique combination of innovation hubs, universities, major medical centers, anchor companies, and startups, have helped Cleveland grow into a top emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Pittsburgh

Known in the startup world as the number one hub for robotics innovation, Pittsburgh is an excellent city for finding tech talent. Carnegie Mellon University has played a significant role in developing top tech talent and innovative startups that focus on robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Beyond that, the city offers a talent pool with experience that spans industries: SaaS, cybersecurity, pharmaceuticals, retail and autonomous vehicle technology, to name a few. The success of major startups like Duolingo have attracted many of the nation’s top tech workers to the Steel City. 

St. Louis

St. Louis is home to not one, not two, but three innovation districts, each with their own distinct focus. 39 North nurtures research and collaboration in the field of plant science and AgTech; Cortex is home to a thriving biomedical community; and the Washington Avenue tech corridor is remaking the heart of downtown. In addition, St. Louis University and Washington University are prestigious universities churning out top talent.

Kansas City

As a major metro hub in both Kansas and Missouri, Kansas is an excellent emerging tech hub to tap into. One in every 10 workers in Kansas City is employed by the tech industry, and the city is home to especially strong sectors in fintech, cybersecurity, integrated solutions, entrepreneurship, and telecommunications. The local KC government is dedicated to supporting its emerging startup ecosystem as well as the next generation of tech talent. Annually, 2,000 people in the region receive bachelor’s degrees or higher in computer science fields. 

Tulsa

Originally home to Black Wall Street, Tulsa is dedicated to creating a diverse and successful startup ecosystem. Many economic development programs and organizations support talent and entrepreneurship development through resources and education. Additionally, the popular Tulsa Remote program, which offers incentives for remote tech talent to live in the city, has attracted an excellent crop of tech talent. The city is a hotbed for telecommunications, aviation, technology and finance. 

Baltimore 

With internationally-renowned universities and a growing tech scene, Baltimore has been ranked #5 best cities for tech jobs. The Baltimore metro area has benefited from an expansion in federal spending, seeing a 38.8% growth in tech jobs over the past 10 years and 17.2% growth in STEM. Maryland has ramped up its talent attraction campaigns, bringing more highly-educated workers — especially in tech — to the state’s big cities, including Baltimore.

Philadelphia

Revolutionizing ideas have been coming out of Philadelphia since before the United States was a country. Now, it’s becoming a leading innovation hub, home to a crop of top STEM talent. Due to its location, world-class educational and medical institutions, and robust bio-health and med-edtech startup community, Philly is a top place to seek highly talented tech candidates.

San Antonio

Everyone has heard of Austin’s rise as the new tech hub, but what about San Antonio. Significantly more affordable and less competitive than Austin, San Antonio is rising as an emerging tech hub. Home to a former Air Force base that’s now commercialized, San Antonio boasts the “largest concentration of IT workers in the area.” The city has a talented pool of tech workers with experience in engineering, cybersecurity, and robotics in the private sector and for national defense contractors. San Antonio has also launched Tech Port, the city’s “vision for an innovation campus,” designed to support a thriving future for the aerospace, energy, defense, cybersecurity, financial services, medicine, manufacturing, and supply-chain logistics industries.

Columbus

A hotbed for startup and entrepreneurial activity, Columbus is an excellent emerging tech hub to find top tech talent. The city’s rise as a startup hub has developed a high-quality crop of startup and tech talent, and major startup successes have put Columbus on the map as the emerging tech hub to be for businesses and talent. Major expansions from Intel, Veeva, Meta and more are attracting top talent. 

About VFA

Venture For America is a national nonprofit and two-year Fellowship for recent college graduates who are interested in entrepreneurship, job creation, and careers at startups. VFA is on a mission to support the growth of diverse ecosystems across American cities by developing entrepreneurial talent and providing access through programs, networks, and resources. To find entrepreneurial work experiences for its fellows, VFA partners with companies to help them tap into its pre-vetted, diverse pool of talent in 13 top emerging tech hubs across the country. If you’re looking for great talent, learn more about hiring a fellow, and check out VFA’s resume book of what kind of candidates you can expect to engage with.