Best Global Cities For A Career In Tech

Cloud computing is among the roles occupied by 9.1 million people in the tech industry. With “tech jobs” appearing in 255,000 Google monthly searches and tech job listings increasing by 25% in the U.S., which are the best cities to pursue a career in tech?

To find out, we looked at a list of the world’s top 30 digital cities, uncovering the number of job vacancies and average salaries across the tech industry’s top five in-demand roles, including:

• Cloud Engineer 
• Software Engineer
• Machine Learning Engineer
• Data Scientist
• Information Security Analyst

We then formed a ranking of the top 15 best cities by further taking into account the number of tech companies, average broadband speeds, average rent for a central one-bedroom apartment, and how much that rent is as a percentage of the annual salary. 

Top 15 Global Cities For Tech Workers

The U.S. dominates the top 15 index ranking for tech job opportunities, with Washington, D.C. ranking as the best city in the world for tech workers. New York and Dallas also rank in the top five. Here are the top 15 global cities for tech workers:

Washington, D.C. has the second-highest number of job vacancies (9,370) and the second-largest number of tech companies (8,348). The growing tech hub is home to some of the world's largest tech giants such as EPAM Systems, Cisco, and Red Hat. 

Tokyo takes second place due to the city’s numerous opportunities for tech workers. Japan’s capital boasts the highest number of available tech jobs (36,785), particularly for Machine Learning Engineers (35,5444), and is home to the fourth-highest number of tech companies (5,908). 

Yan Fan, co-founder of the coding bootcamp Code Chrysalis, revealed that Japan is seeking companies to actively invest in tech workers, such as Cybozu, PayPay, and Rakuten, and thus makes it a great place to nurture a growing tech career.

In third place comes New York City, providing tech workers with the highest average salary of $147,665. This is $14,933 higher than Washington’s average tech salary and $24,964 higher than Dallas’. However, rent is very high in the city, and on average, contributes to just under a third of a tech worker’s salary — one of the highest percentages of the cities analyzed. 

Dallas follows behind in fourth place, with 3,122 available jobs and a large average salary of $122,701. Unlike New York, rent is much more affordable in Dallas, where tech workers are likely to pay over $600 less a month in rent compared to the other top-ranking U.S. cities.

Hong Kong rounds up the top five, offering the third-highest average salary of $123,785.  

Top 5 Cities For Software Engineers

When analyzing the best locations for specific career paths, the study reveals Washington, D.C. as the best city for Software Engineers. The U.S. capital has the third-highest number of job vacancies in the field (4,143) and offers an outstanding average salary of $136,696. 

Singapore takes second place, with the city boasting a high number of job vacancies (3,878) and an average salary of $126,302. New York City follows closely behind in third, thanks to its high salary of $146,437.

Zurich comes in fourth, boasting the largest average salary for Software Engineers in the world ($159,148). This is 8.7% higher than the world’s second-largest, found in New York ($146,437). London rounds out the top five.  

Top 5 Cities For Cloud Engineers

Washington, D.C. comes out on top yet again, ranking as the best city for Cloud Engineers. The study found D.C. has the highest number of available jobs in Cloud Engineering (2,944) and the second-largest average salary of $143,288. The study further revealed Singapore as the second-best city, where the third-highest number of available jobs are available (2,501). 

Another U.S. city follows behind in third, with the highest average salary for Cloud Engineers of $164,954 promised in New York City. London comes in fourth, boasting the second-highest number of Cloud Engineering vacancies (2,590), and Dallas in fifth, with a generous average salary of $138,563. 

Remote Opportunities In Tech’s 5 Most In-Demand Roles

The global pandemic led to many changes in the workplace but two and half years on, companies are returning to some normality. While employers are encouraging workers to visit the office more frequently, not everyone is willing to fully part ways with the benefits of homeworking. 

An Owl Labs 2022 Report revealed that with 62% of workers feeling more productive when working remotely, 39% would resign if they were no longer permitted to work from home. 

The study uncovers the highest number of remote opportunities in Software Engineering, with 9,115 roles advertised around the world. Cloud Computing ranks second, with 5,203 advertised vacancies. 

The study goes on to rank Machine Learning Engineering third (1,590), followed by Data Science (1,255), and Information Security Analysis (328) roles.

Employers are continuing to entice talent with remote working opportunities. The benefits are not only limited to higher levels of productivity, as remote working has a positive effect on employee wellbeing. Removing the commute from their day allows workers to reclaim their time and money while reducing overall stress. 

Tips For Overcoming The Tech Industry’s Job-Hunting Hurdles 

Reports on the tech industry’s job cuts have seemed never-ending this year. As of September 1, 2023, Crunchbase recorded some of the highest workforce reductions at Amazon (16,080) and Microsoft (11,158). Although tech companies have seen a loss of over 168,885 workers in the U.S., they aren’t alone in needing highly skilled tech workers.

Recent years have seen all industries adapting the workplace to remote working, leading companies to rely increasingly on technology to ensure business efficiency. 

Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence are just some of the digital technologies being used, creating a high demand for candidates with the skills to fill those roles.

If you’re considering a career change or simply on the hunt for your first job, now is a great time to jump into tech. 

Bill Buckley, Senior Vice President of Product and Engineering at CloudZero shares his tips on overcoming the tech industry’s job-hunting hurdles:

Close the skill gap

With industries around the world undergoing digitalization, companies are constantly required to rely on skilled talent to manage the business’ new technologies. Not everyone has the same resources to acquire the necessary skills through college education. 

Fortunately, not all tech roles require a college degree. Research the roles that speak to you the most, while taking note of the skills you’ll need to be considered for them. Now you know what areas of your resume you need to focus on, find affordable training courses that will allow you to acquire those crucial skills.  

Build a network

As well as equipping yourself with technical skills, you will also need to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the industry. Having a network is the best way to do this. That means not having one can be an obstacle. 

Online platforms are filled with groups that provide useful information for people starting out in tech. Don’t hesitate to find group platforms that better help you tackle personal hurdles. Women Who Code, for example, is an organization that supports women in tech.

Put yourself out there

Entry-level jobs are very competitive and you’ll be up against candidates with internship experience or qualifications from leading colleges. One of the biggest hurdles for starting out in tech is getting noticed by hiring managers. 

There are many ways you can put your skills to use and develop valuable experience. You’ll find many online resources that provide a platform to create and promote your work. Freelancing platforms such as Fiverr or Freelancer allow you to work on short-term projects and develop a portfolio that helps you stand out from the crowd. 

Now that CloudZero has uncovered the most in-demand tech jobs and the best cities to start your career, where will you go to find your dream tech job? Will you stay in the U.S., making the most of Washington’s affordable work environment, or will you move to Japan for Tokyo’s promising opportunities? 

Methodology and Sources

CloudZero pulled together a seedlist of the top 30 digital cities in the world and a seedlist of the top five in-demand tech roles. The cities were scored in each role with ‘average salary’ being given a higher weighting, due to its significance and it being one of the most important factors when deciding where to live and/or what job role. 

• Number of jobs available per role (Glassdoor job search)
• Average salary per role (Glassdoor salary search)

The cities were then ranked based on these additional metrics:

• Number of tech companies per city (Crunchbase location search)
• Average broadband speed (SpeedTest)
• Average rent for a central one-bedroom apartment (Numbeo)

The data used is accurate as of August 31, 2023.