The Best $100,000+ Tech Jobs Are Increasingly Concentrated in Just 8 Cities

High prices aren’t enough to stop the momentum of the leading tech cities

In theory, the high-wage jobs of the technology industry could be filled by people working anywhere. But in practice, the best tech jobs in the U.S., offering salaries in excess of $100,000 a year, are becoming increasingly concentrated in the metropolitan areas of just eight cities, according to new research.

The eight leading U.S. tech hubs account for slightly less than 10% of U.S. jobs and about 13% of overall job postings. But the cities —

  1. Seattle,
  2. San Francisco,
  3. San Jose,
  4. Austin,
  5. Raleigh,
  6. Washington,
  7. Baltimore and
  8. Boston

— account for more than 27% of the listings for U.S. tech jobs

.. The finding is surprising in part because the cities are some of the most expensive in the country — for both employees and employers. Of the eight, only Raleigh, N.C., has seen home prices rise at a pace comparable to the national average. The other seven cities have grown dramatically more expensive in recent decades.