Denver Ranks #12 on CBRE’s Annual Scoring Tech Talent Report

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Denver ranks #12 overall on CBRE’s 2021 Scoring Tech Talent report as North American tech-talent employment weathered the pandemic better than most other professions. 

Numerous indicators underscore the resilience of tech talent during COVID-19. These occupations registered job growth of 0.8 percent in 2020 in the U.S. while non-tech occupations declined by 5.5 percent. Software developers and programmers were the most in demand tech-job category last year, adding 85,000 U.S. jobs for a 4.8 percent growth rate from a year earlier. Beyond the tech industry itself, those that added tech workers last year include financial activities, professional & business services, and government.

Denver has the 12th largest tech talent labor pool nationally with 114,900 tech workers, a 31.1 percent increase from 2015. That registered as the sixth-fastest growth rate in North America in that timeframe.

Tech jobs account for 7 percent of total jobs in Denver’s workforce, 1.8 times higher than the national average of 3.9 percent. Following the pandemic, factors including the size of a market’s talent labor pool is a key indicator of a region’s economic recovery. 

Overall, the top five markets for tech talent in 2021 are the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Toronto and New York City, all large markets with a tech labor pool of more than 50,000. Denver ranks #12 this year.

“With an expanding talent pool, strong employee in-migration and affordable cost of living, Denver remains a top consideration for tech companies who are considering their expansion plans. The market’s tech talent base remains strong as we continue to move up in the report’s Brain Gain category, which confirms our ability to keep talent local by offering great employment opportunities. As we look at the continued trajectory of companies moving their headquarters to Colorado, we suspect that our tech talent pool will not only continue to grow, but also attract new types of talent that choose Denver as a home,” said Alex Hammerstein, Senior Vice President, CBRE.

CBRE’s annual report, now in its ninth year, ranks the top 50 North American markets by analyzing 13 measures of their ability to attract and develop tech talent, including tech graduation rates, tech-job concentration, tech labor pool size, and labor and real estate costs, among others. CBRE also ranks the Next 25 emerging tech markets on a narrower set of criteria. Tech talent is defined as 20 key tech professions — such as software developers and systems and data managers – across all industries.

Denver stood out in the report in a number of other key areas:

  • Denver has the sixth fastest-growing tech labor pool in North America. Over the past five years, Denver added 27,290 tech jobs. 
  • Denver’s millennial population aged 22 to 36 grew 20.1 percent since 2014. It is also the third-most concentrated millennial market, with about one-third of Denver’s population in this cohort. That’s above the U.S. average of 22 percent.
  • The metro churned out nearly 22,000 tech degree graduates between 2015 and 2019, ranking ninth for “brain gain,” meaning it added 5,344 more tech jobs than tech graduates over the past five years.
  • The market ranked seventh for educational attainment with 45.8 percent of residents over age 25 holding a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared to a U.S. average of 33.1 percent).
  • Denver’s average tech wage ($107,481) is ninth highest in North America. It has grown by 11 percent over the last five years. 
  • Denver’s average office rent is the 18th most expensive among top tech markets. Office rent growth increased 17 percent over the last five years.
  • In terms of cost, Denver is the seventh most expensive market for operating a 500-employee tech company occupying 75,000 sq. ft. in Denver, with an estimated annual operating cost of $51.4 million. 

Top Overall North American Tech Markets

2021 Rank

Market

Score

2021 Rank

Market

Score

1

Bay Area

86.40

6

Boston

62.60

2

Seattle

73.16

7

Austin

58.87

3

Washington, DC

65.60

8

Atlanta

57.78

4

Toronto

64.78

9

LA/Orange Co.

57.62

5

New York Metro

63.44

10

Ottawa

57.34

To download the report, click here.

About CBRE Group, Inc.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2020 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

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