Perhaps you haven’t noticed the flurry of articles written about Indianapolis lately. Journalists and analysts continue to praise Indianapolis’ airport, food scene, and tourism. These are praiseworthy aspects of Indiana’s growing capital, but a strong, diverse job market will keep young talent in the state and encourage experienced professionals to make the Hoosier state their home. Fortunately, when it comes to tech jobs, Indy is rolling.

Forbes recently reported on the cities creating the most tech jobs in 2017. Regarding methodology, half the ranking is based on employment growth at companies in high-technology industries (e.g. software, engineering services), with the other half based on changes in the number of workers classified as having STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) occupations. Data analyzed spanned one decade (2006-2016), with added weight given to 2014-2016 growth to account for current momentum. Here’s a look at the top 5:

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
  2. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina
  3. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
  4. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
  5. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana

Even the Forbes author seemed puzzled by the results, admitting that “another surprising up and comer is Indianapolis in fifth place.”1 The share of STEM jobs in the Indianapolis region sits close to the national average at 5%, but STEM employment is up nearly 18% since 2006. Internet-based jobs experienced an astounding 1,700% growth in the past decade. A few more noteworthy statistics from the report:

  • Tech Industry Job Growth (2006-2016): 68.1%
  • Number of tech jobs (2016): 30,646
  • STEM occupation growth (2006-2016): 17.8%
  • Number of STEM jobs (2016): 53,181

Silicon Valley still holds a commanding lead for the number of tech jobs, but Indy seems poised to continue climbing the ranks. Tech and STEM related jobs include some strong Indiana life science sectors, such as medical device manufacturing. Pearl Pathways’ President and CEO, Diana Caldwell, recently provided her perspective on the medical device industry in Indiana in an article published in the 2017 edition of BioFutures. Check out her article and learn more about the best health science companies, technologies, and talent.

 

 

1https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2017/03/16/technology-jobs-2017-san-francisco-charlotte-detroit/#1ecb9c2738f6