DETROIT – Detroit has become the only two-time winner on the top five list of fastest growing tech cities, says Dice.Com. Detroit was No. 5 on the list this year, with year-to-year growth of 10 percent in tech job listings. Detroit was No. 1 on the list in 2011.
Back in 2011, Dice said Detroit had more than 800 tech jobs posted on any given day; now it?s more than 1,100. Automation Alley, Michigan?s largest technology association, ranked the greater Detroit region among the best for its strong record of students completing science, technology, engineering and math degrees.
Annual salaries for Detroit-based tech pros are rising at above average rates, up 7 percent from last year to $76,515 on average.
St. Louis, Mo. was No. 1 on this year?s Dice survey at 25 percent year-over-year growth in tech job listings, followed by Charlotte, N.C. (22 percent), Austin, Texas (16 percent) and Phoenix, Ariz. (13 percent).
?Detroit is a great place to be, and that?s what?s driving it,? siad Dice.com senior vice president Tom Silver. ?I think what?s contributing to it is a growth in opportunity as well as a pretty good cost of living. Increasingly, people are moving from more traditional tech centers like the Valley and NYC where it?s really expensive, to cities like Detroit, which are a great place to live.?
Employers are also discovering a ?rich pool of talent? in cities like Detroit too ? that they can get for more reasonable salaries, given the lower local cost of living.
Quicken Loans, Domino?s Pizza and New World Systems are among the high-profile companies now with listings on Dice.com, Silver said.
Dice noted that with communities coming together to support start-ups, court large employers and funds STEM education initiatives ? no one should be surprised that ?traditional tech centers? needs a new definition.
