These are the top 3 smart cities that are the best bets for tech work

Get a good job in the city.

It’s both good advice from Mom and what tech workers are increasingly considering as the industry’s hiring moves into a more national phase. Silicon Valley is cutting jobs, but IT hiring is ticking up in different industries and in cities around the country.

In CompTIA’s latest annual State of the Tech Industry report, released in March, the organization listed the top 10 cities in the US for net tech jobs, detailing the relative strengths of major tech cities as part of an overview of the industry’s position.

In December, the tech real estate analyst firm ProptechOS gave readers its top smart city indicators. ProptechOS used a methodology weighing tech infrastructure and connectivity, green infrastructure, and the strength of the city’s tech-driven job market.

IT Brew compared and contrasted the two reports to determine our top three smart cities to get a tech job in for 2023.

Los Angeles

With a resounding 385,563 net tech jobs, the Los Angeles tech industry accounts for 5.4% of total employment in the city and $83.9 billion of its economic impact, according to CompTIA. Tech hiring saw a slight drop in Q4 2022 but overall tech jobs in the city are projected to increase by 1.1% in 2023.

The city is also connected—scoring an 88 out of 100 in PropTechOS’s tech infrastructure category—a testament to investment in Wi-Fi, hotspots, and broadband. It’s also one of the greener cities, scoring a 90. Only Austin, Texas, scores higher overall, but the City of the Violet Crown can’t compare to the LA job market in overall numbers.

San Francisco

It’s no surprise to see San Francisco in the top three. Long a major tech hub, the city boasts 350,662 net tech jobs. The economic impact of the industry on San Francisco can’t be overstated, either: 14.2% net employment of the overall workforce and a staggering $176.2 billion economic impact make clear the outsize role of tech in the city.

San Francisco lags a bit behind its neighbor to the south in smart city indicators, with infrastructure less well-developed than one might expect, given the role of tech in the city’s development over the past decades. Nonetheless, San Francisco comes in with a score of 75 in infrastructure and 84 in green development. Not bad!

Washington, DC

If you’re surprised to see the nation’s capital rounding out the top three, you haven’t been paying attention—DC’s tech industry is booming, with a citywide economic impact of $75.6 billion and 368,253 net tech jobs accounting for 10.9% of total employment.

DC is well represented in the smart cities indicator index as well, with a 79 in tech infrastructure and 71 in green development. There have been rumblings about the East Coast’s growing role as tech incubator, and DC fits the bill.—EH