Austin Soars To STEM Supremacy: Texas Capital Tops STEM Index For Fifth Time

Austin, Texas, tops the RCLCO STEMdex for the fifth time in seven years.

The Texas capital is among the 10 best cities for current economic conditions, workforce quality and quality of life, although increasing office costs and a relatively small airport slightly dim its appeal. Construction is underway to expand the airport's terminal.

RCLCO Real Estate Consulting and CapRidge Partners analyzed the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) most likely to see the strongest STEM job growth in future years. The goal of the analysis is to predict which markets will see strong growth because of demographics, quality of life and business climate. STEM jobs are concentrated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The average wage for STEM jobs in the 50 largest MSAs was $108,000 in 2022, compared to $67,000 for all other industries.

"The tech industry has been the key driver for STEM jobs and local economies in the past decade, but over the past 12 to 18 months, that sector has slowed with company share prices down and hiring freezes being commonplace," CapRidge Chief Investment Officer Dan Terpening said. "Yet, the importance of science and engineering has never been greater with the advance of life and biosciences, EV plants, robotics in manufacturing plus the heightened attention on infrastructure."

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"STEM continues to propel the economies forward that prioritize the areas. The 2023 STEMdex represents cities that continue to thrive by recruiting the best and brightest talent available, with Austin leading the way."

2023 STEM Job Growth Index

1. Austin, Texas

2. Denver

3. Seattle

4. Raleigh, North Carolina

5. Washington, D.C.

6. San Francisco

7. Portland, Oregon

8. San Jose, California

9. Boston

10.  Dallas

11.  Minneapolis

12.  Salt Lake City

13.  Orlando, Florida

14.  Charlotte, North Carolina

15.  Atlanta

16.  Nashville, Tennessee

17.  San Diego

18.  Richmond, Virginia

19. Baltimore

20.  Philadelphia

Denver moved up in the ranks two spots to No. 2 driven by gains in quality-of-life metrics resulting from improvements in income inequality and expanding cultural amenities. But the city has one of the highest rates of inflation among metro areas, and employment growth has slowed, which appears to be the result of a lack of employees.

Third-ranked Seattle is attractive to recent college graduates and highly educated and skilled workers. Colleges such as the University of Washington contribute to a diverse, young and educated workforce. The city is also home to Amazon, which has 45,000 employees, and Tableau, which has 2,000 workers.

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