Tech workers play a vital role in driving local economies, contributing to higher productivity and innovation across industries. As businesses increasingly rely on technology, cities with a strong tech workforce gain a competitive edge, experiencing greater economic growth. This shift reflects the growing demand for skilled professionals in tech-related fields.
Graphic: Productivity Powered by Tech Workers
The graph above plots Extended Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) based on the share of their workforce with a bachelor’s degree or higher working in the tech industry (x-axis) and their corresponding economic productivity per worker (y-axis). Using educational attainment as a proxy for skill level, the data reveals a strong, statistically significant relationship: EMAs with a higher proportion of skilled tech workers tend to be more productive.
The visualization illustrates a wide variation in productivity across American cities. At the top end, the San Francisco Bay Area produces $283,000 in economic output per worker, almost double the US average of $146,000 (marked by the orange dot). In contrast, McAllen, TX, sits at the bottom with about $67,000 per worker. (Users can find a specific EMA using the “Highlight EMA” search bar.) The dotted regression line indicates that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of high-skilled tech workers corresponds to an increase of more than $10,000 in an EMA’s productivity. While this is an impressive correlation, it is important to note that other factors, including industry composition, also contribute to productivity.
Cities in the graph’s upper-right quadrant demonstrating high productivity generally enjoy greater economic returns, which in turn allows them to sustain higher standards of living.
Are We Seeing More Tech-Focused Jobs in Our Local Economies?
As part of our Grand Challenge exploration of the skills gap, Kenan Institute researchers are analyzing job posting data from multiple sources to better understand employer demand. Though still early in our analysis, we’re already seeing notable trends in the growing need for tech-related skills, including programming and data analytics.
In our home state of North Carolina, tech-related job postings are expanding, reflecting a growing demand for digital skills in both urban and rural areas. Wake County, home to 1.2 million residents and the city of Raleigh, continues to see strong demand for AI and data-related roles. Proficiency in Python, the main programming language used for machine learning and AI, is a skill in high demand, despite a slight recent decline. Data analysis jobs grew by 13% in 2024 in Wake County, and cloud computing skills remain essential.
The robust expansion in computing jobs is not limited to urban centers. Northampton County, a rural area with about 17,000 residents, is seeing rapid growth in data-related job postings. Positions requiring data analysis skills have more than tripled from 18 in 2023 to 62 in 2024. While this might seem like a small number of jobs, it is meaningful to a labor force of 6,600. This recent surge reflects a broader trend toward digital transformation, even in less urbanized regions. In position descriptions, mentions of Data Version Control, a software tool that enables data scientists and engineers to track changes to datasets and machine learning models, has become more prevalent, and the adoption of such tools underscores the growing sophistication in data engineering needs in that region. These trends suggest that data-centric technical skills are becoming increasingly vital in shaping North Carolina’s evolving workforce.
Skilled Tech Workers Help Drive Local Productivity