Best Western Metros for Tech: From Silicon Valley to Colorado’s Front Range

San Jose, Calif., Outpaces Field as Colorado Lands 4 Metros in Western Top 20

San Jose, Calif., rose to the top of the West with 73 points out of 100 to finish nearly 20 points ahead of San Francisco on the strength of its tech workforce. In San Jose, some 15% of all jobs in the metro sit in computer and mathematical roles (the only figure in the study above 10%). Additionally, median tech wages hit $196,595 — the highest in the West — and the metro placed second on educational attainment.

San Jose firms were also granted roughly 67,000 USPTO patents between 2020 and 2024, which was nearly double the next metro on the list.

In second place, San Francisco had the most firms receiving tech patents. Here, roughly 2,500 companies and organizations were granted approximately 35,000 patents between 2020 and 2024. Whereas San Jose’s patent output is concentrated among a handful of household-name tech giants, San Francisco’s is spread across a much wider and more varied base of firms, including smaller companies and startups working in fintech, biotech and adjacent industries. San Francisco is also home to more than 7,000 tech companies in raw numbers, as compared to roughly 3,854 in San Jose. And, while tech makes up a larger share of San Jose’s overall business base (therefore giving it the edge on tech company density), San Francisco placed third. Tech workers in the City by the Bay also earned a median wage of $165,167, trailing only San Jose.

Not to be outdone, Boulder, Colo., is the West’s standout metro for educational attainment with 66.5% of adults holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Notably, educational attainment is one of three metrics in our life-quality index, and Boulder scored highest of any metro in the study. In that regard, we can point locally to CU Boulder, an institution that not only is a source of talent, but has also been instrumental in expanding the metro’s tech company base through spinouts and startups. Plus, on a per-capita basis, Boulder ranks second on tech company density with nearly 60 tech firms per 1,000 companies and third on tech workforce density with 87.8 of every 1,000 jobs in tech roles.

Back on the coast, Seattle came in fourth by posting the highest tech employment density outside of California and median tech earnings that ranked third in the study, trailing only San Jose, Calif., and San Francisco. Seattle’s patent output, too, trailed only the two Bay Area entries. It’s worth noting that Seattle’s tech sector runs on heavy investment from a relatively small number of very large employers (Amazon and Microsoft being chief among them), rather than a wide startup base, which shows up in an establishment density that’s lower than several metros ranked below it.

Closing out the top five, Bend, Ore., is the smallest metro in the top 20 by a comfortable margin with just 264,000 residents and tech-density scores that trail most of the metros ranked below it. Yet, what carried it here is the pace at which its tech economy is expanding: Bend posted the highest tech establishment growth (22%) and the highest median tech earnings growth (90%) of any qualifying metro. In this case, the Bend Venture Conferecne — one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest angel investment events — has brought attention and capital to the metro’s early-stage companies. What’s more, Bend also ranked #4 in the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Small Cities report. Even so, for now, the ecosystem remains in its early stages and heavily reliant on remote workers employed by companies in larger markets.

To the east at #6, Provo, Utah, expanded its tech workforce by 46%, which was third-fastest among all metros throughout the study period. Notably, Provo has become a key part of Silicon Slopes, Utah’s tech corridor, with an SaaS and fintech cluster that has produced companies like Qualtrics and Domo. The other Utah entry, Salt Lake City made it into the top 20 overall with a solid life quality index score.

Next, Colorado made its second appearance on the list at #7 with Denver in part of what turned out to be the strongest state cluster in the study: Four Colorado metros placed in the top 20 and all of them are along a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 25 — Boulder (#3), Denver (#7), Colorado Springs (#11) and Fort Collins (#15). Only California, with six, placed more. As the second Colorado metro in the top 20 after Boulder, Denver is the largest and most mature tech economy in the corridor with respectable performances across employment density, earnings and growth, rather than a single standout metric. Meanwhile, Colorado Springs leans on an aerospace, defense and cybersecurity, with more than 250 companies across those sectors. Moreover, all four Colorado entries also registered unemployment rates at or below 4.6% and scored well on the composite life-quality index.

Not to be outdone, two Nevada metros also made the top 20, neither of which would have been an obvious pick five years ago: Reno, Nev., placed #9, growing its tech workforce by 64.6% during the study period for the highest rate in the top 20. Here, active recruitment by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) has helped attract a steady stream of new and expanding companies to the Greater Reno-Sparks region in recent years with technology and advanced manufacturing making up the bulk of the companies that relocated or expanded in 2020. Now, the metro houses fintech firms including Clear Capital, Figure Technologies and Uplift, alongside SaaS relocations such as Toast. Not far behind, Las Vegas (#13) grew its tech workforce by 60.7% in the same timeframe with a software and IT base that’s smaller than Reno’s, but nevertheless expanding alongside the metro’s hospitality and gaming infrastructure.

San Jose, Calif., Leads West on Tech Company Density at 76.6 per 1,000 Businesses

San Jose, Calif., led the West in tech establishment density at 76.6 per 1,000 businesses — well ahead of second-place Boulder, Colo., (59.9) and third-place San Francisco (53.6). Then, after San Francisco, the field drops off with San Diego (36.0) as the only other metro above 35 per 1,000.

Below them, Denver (33.2); Provo, Utah (33); and Colorado Springs, Colo., (32.7) formed a tight grouping of inland Western metros, all within less than one point of one another.

Notably, Seattle (30.5) placed eighth, which was lower than its position in most other metrics. That’s because the metro’s tech sector concentrates around a small number of very large employers, rather than a wide base of firms.

Phoenix Adds Most Tech Firms in Raw Numbers as Bend, Ore., Posts Fastest Growth Rate

Interestingly, establishment growth across the top 20 was concentrated outside of the traditional West Coast hubs.

For instance, Bend, Ore., led all entries at 22%. Although the metro added just 27 tech firms between 2019 and 2023 (a modest number), this is consistent with a market that’s still building its foundations. What’s more, Bend’s tech ecosystem is also poised to expand further with a planned Innovation District — a 24-acre development at Oregon State University’s Cascades campus. Construction is slated to start in 2028.

Reno, Nev. (16.6%); Sacramento, Calif. (13.2%); Boise, Idaho (13.0%); Phoenix (11.5%); and Provo, Utah, (10.3%) also recorded double-digit gains.

In raw numbers, Phoenix added the most new tech firms of any metro in the top 20 at 266 with TSMC’s fab complex in north Phoenix and Intel’s expansion at its Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Ariz., pulling engineering talent and supplier networks into the metro. Otherwise, Sacramento, Calif., added 166 for the second-highest raw gain in its location 90 miles from the Bay Area and by drawing on UC Davis as a research and talent pipeline.

1 in Every 6.5 Jobs in San Jose, Calif., Is in Tech, the Highest Density in the Study

San Jose, Calif.’s tech employment density of 155 per 1,000 occupations means roughly one in every 6.5 jobs in the metro is in tech. And, the gap between San Jose and second-place Seattle (92.9) confirms the Silicon Valley metro’s outlier status.

Seattle 92.9; Boulder, Colo. (87.8); and San Francisco (87.7) round out the top four as the only entries where density exceeds 80 per 1,000.

Next, Colorado Springs, Colo. (65.5); Provo, Utah (64.3); and Denver (61.6) form a second grouping. All three sit above 60 per 1,000, putting them closer to the top four than to the rest of the field.

Then comes a tight cluster in the low 50s — Salt Lake City (54.5); Portland, Ore. (52.3); Fort Collins, Colo. (52.2); Sacramento, Calif. (52.1); and San Diego (52.1). Five metros ranging from 375,000 to 3.3 million residents, yet their tech job concentrations are virtually identical.

Reno & Las Vegas Top Tech Employment Growth, but LA Adds Most in Raw Numbers

Interestingly, some of the fastest-expanding tech workforces are in metros that added few new firms.

Namely, Reno, Nev., (64.6%) and Las Vegas (60.7%) recorded the highest growth rates, both above 60%. A ways back, Provo, Utah (46.1%); Bend, Ore. (39.7%); Sacramento, Calif. (34%); Denver (32.4%); and Portland, Ore., (30.8%) all grew more than 30%.

However, in terms of raw numbers alone, Los Angeles added roughly 39,400 tech workers between 2019 and 2024 for the largest gain in the study. Meanwhile, Seattle added 30,400; Denver tallied 26,000; and San Francisco contributed 20,400. All four registered percentage growth between 10% and 32%, which is modest by the standards of this list, but each also added more tech workers in absolute terms than Reno, Nev., and Las Vegas combined.

Bay Area Tech Workers Earn Top Dollar With Median Salaries Above $155,000

San Jose, Calif., led all entries at $196,595 in median tech earnings, which was nearly $31,500 ahead of San Francisco ($165,167). Seattle came in third at $155,967. That said, all three carry regional price parities of 110 or higher, meaning consumer goods and services cost at least 10% more than the national average.

Then, San Diego ($121,721); Santa Rosa ($121,212), Boulder, Colo. ($114,804); Portland, Ore. ($111,797); and Bend, Ore., ($110,547) make up a second grouping above $110,000. Bend’s placement, in particular, stands out here because tech workers in the smallest metro in the top 20 earn more than those in Denver ($109,896) or Los Angeles ($109,934).

Mountain West Metros Lead Tech Earnings Growth

The highest median tech earnings growth in the top 20 belonged to Bend, Ore., at 90.4%, finishing well ahead of Albuquerque, N.M., (63.2%) and Las Vegas (46.3%).

In this case, Albuquerque, N.M.’s 63.2% increase aligns with the specialized, higher-clearance roles tied to its national laboratory and defense research economy, where competition for qualified workers has pushed compensation upward.

However, the sharpest contrast in this metric is between the upper- and lowermost of the top 20. For example, Boulder, Colo.’s tech workers already earned $114,804 at the start of the period for the sixth-highest median on the list, but earnings grew just 13.3%. In comparison, Boise, Idaho’s tech workers earned the least at $86,204, but saw 41.1% growth. Clearly, the metros where pay grew fastest were largely the ones where it had the most room to grow.

San Jose, Calif., Leads West in Patent Output by Wide Margin

San Jose, Calif., produced 67,002 tech patents between 2020 and 2024 — nearly double San Francisco’s 35,365 and more than three times Seattle’s 19,712. As such, those three metros account for the bulk of Western patent activity, and the gap between them and the rest of the field is wide.

Notably, San Francisco’s patents came from 2,519 organizations to claim the most of any Western metro and more than San Jose’s 2,071, despite producing roughly half the patents. That works out to 14 patents per organization in San Francisco versus 32.4 in San Jose.

Even so, Boise, Idaho, stood out. The metro produced 7,426 patents from just 48 organizations for an average of 154.7 per organization, or nearly five times higher than anywhere else in the study.

Then, Los Angeles (11,418 patents from 1,727 organizations) and San Diego (7,487 from 752) closed out the top five, both with innovation spread across defense, biotech, entertainment technology and university research.

Boulder, Colo., Tops Life-Quality Index With Highest Educational Attainment in West

Finally, salary is only part of what makes a metro work for a tech professional. So, to capture the broader picture, this study also included a composite life-quality index by scoring each metro on educational attainment, unemployment rate and regional price parity. The maximum number of points for this indicator was 15.

Boulder, Colo., led the West at 11.4 points out of 15 for the highest educational attainment in the study (66.5% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher), an unemployment rate of 4.3%. Staying in Colorado, Fort Collins (11.3) was close behind with the third-highest education rate at 55.5% and the lowest unemployment among Colorado’s four top-20 entries at 4.2%.

As a matter of fact, the Mountain West dominated this metric: Provo, Utah (10.9); Boise, Idaho (10.4); and Albuquerque, N.M., (10.3) all scored above 10, supported by low unemployment and regional prices below the national average. Boise, Idaho, even had the lowest unemployment in the entire top 20 at 3.8%, while Albuquerque, N.M., had the lowest cost of living with a regional price parity of 95.6.

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