The Top Emerging Tech Cities

New York and San Francisco have been the center of the tech universe for a long time. However, that has begun to change over the past few years. With these cities having the highest costs of living in the US, companies had to compensate employees by paying them 20 to 30 percent more than the national average. 

To reduce costs, tech companies based in New York and San Francisco have started hiring remote employees that live in cheaper cities. By changing salaries according to the location of the employee, tech companies can attract top talent at a fraction of the price they used to pay. 

Hiring remote tech professionals has led to the rise of new tech centers outside traditional tech hubs. Denver, Chicago. Portland and Boston have all recently emerged as hotbeds filled with tech talent.

Coding Bootcamps

Another major factor driving the emergence of secondary tech hubs is that more and more professionals from across all industries are eying a career in the tech sector. To learn the skills they need to get their foot in the door, they are choosing to attend coding bootcamps. What used to take four years can now be done in just a couple of months and at half the price of pursuing a computer science degree.

There are hundreds of coding schools across the country. Many of them have opened campuses in these emerging tech hotspots, further increasing tech talent in these locations. Since most major coding bootcamps were founded inside New York and San Francisco, these cities boast excellent bootcamps as well. In fact, San Francisco is home to 32 major coding bootcamps, and graduates from these bootcamps earn an average salary of $145,000.

Let’s take a look at emerging tech cities and the coding schools you should consider if you want to enter the tech industry.

Denver

If you are looking into a career in web development, the city of Denver has a bootcamp for you. Here, you can attend bootcamps for back end development—where you’ll learn Python, Ruby and JavaScript—or web design—where you’ll use Java and HTML. Many Denver bootcamps also offer full stack options to learn both web design and web development.

Chicago

Are you currently based in or looking to relocate to the windy city? Well, with 23 excellent coding bootcamps, you are sure to find a program that fits your needs in Chicago. No matter what tech career you are after—be it software engineering, data science or mobile development—you are bound to find the right program in Chicago.

Chicago is one of the largest cities in the world, with a size matched only by a few other metropolises around the world. However, the tech industry here is just getting started. Industry job growth reports all point to a boom in Chicago’s tech industry.

There are currently over 7000 open tech jobs in the Chicago area, with the average salary for bootcamp grads at around $114,000.

Boston

Boston is home to more than Fenway Park and die-hard Red Sox fans. It is also host to major coding bootcamps. If you are thinking about a career in digital marketing or product development, you will find the bootcamp you need here.

Portland

Portland is a beautiful West Coast city that’s growing fast. There are some great Portland-based bootcamp options from schools like Epicodus that focus on the booming web development sector. With an expected job growth rate of 31 percent by the year 2028, web development is an excellent field to specialize in, and Portland’s size and natural beauty make it one of the best places to learn the skills you need.