Edmonton has entered the top 50 tech talent markets in North America in the latest ranking from CBRE.
According to the 2021 report, Edmonton's average tech wage of US$69,152 has grown 27% over the last five years while the tech talent pool has grown by 53.3% to more than 34,000 tech jobs. That's the highest growth among markets with fewer than 50,000 tech workers.
Edmonton is listed alongside Calgary, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, and Ottawa as cities experiencing a "brain gain" with 6,478 more tech jobs added during that five-year period than tech degrees issued.
Overall, Edmonton is considered a high-quality, low-cost market for tech talent.
"I think the tech infrastructure and ecosystem here is outstanding and I really believe the fact that we can leverage the U of A as a key resource will be a very important asset to have as we grow that tech infrastructure and ecosystem in the future," CBRE Edmonton managing director Dave Young told Postmedia.
Toronto (4), Ottawa (19), Vancouver (11), Montreal (16), Waterloo (21), Calgary (28), and Quebec City (34) were the other Canadian cities to rank in the top 50.
Last year, Edmonton ranked 9th on CBRE's "Next 25" list and 10th in the Canada-specific list.