Kansas City’s tech community is making headlines yet again. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm, released its annual “Scoring Tech Talent” report which ranks the 50 largest markets in the U.S. and Canada by their “competitive advantages and appeal to tech employers and tech talent.” Kansas City came in at the number 18 spot as a momentum market on the list.
Between 2010 and 2015, Kansas City created 14,260 jobs in the tech industry, bringing the number of total tech jobs close to 50,000. While the non-tech job sector saw a growth rate of 13.9 percent, tech jobs increased by a whopping 41.6 percent in Kansas City. What’s causing the growth? According to Brian Bacon of CBRE, factors including the cost of living, variety of housing options, cost to do business and wages are all driving the growth of jobs. The cost of leasing office space is significantly cheaper in Kansas City as well. In fact, the number one ranked tech momentum market, San Francisco, has an average cost of $66.96 per square foot of office space whereas Kansas City averages at $17.67 per square foot.
In addition to the housing market, Kansas City has proven to be an epicenter for the tech community in other ways. The initial launch of Google Fiber in Kansas City proved to be a catalyst for putting the city’s tech community on the map. Furthermore, Kansas City offers a variety of employment options in the tech industry. From large corporations like Cerner to up-and-coming startups like Rex Animal health, tech workers can be more selective when considering employment opportunities.
