Wage growth by metro.
Modeled year-over-year growth for tech, AI, and engineering roles.
81 U.S. metros. Tech, AI, and engineering roles. Updated annually.
Top 20 metros by modeled wage growth
Average modeled year-over-year growth across a basket of tech, AI, and engineering roles. Modeled projections, not observed metro history.
- #1St. Louis, MO+5.4%
- #2Des Moines, IA+5.4%
- #3Denver, CO+5.3%
- #4Dallas, TX+5.3%
- #5Detroit, MI+5.3%
- #6Indianapolis, IN+5.3%
- #7Birmingham, AL+5.3%
- #8Hartford, CT+5.3%
- #9Louisville, KY+5.3%
- #10Omaha, NE+5.3%
- #11Fargo, ND+5.3%
- #12Albuquerque, NM+5.3%
- #13Providence, RI+5.3%
- #14Cincinnati, OH+5.3%
- #15Knoxville, TN+5.3%
- #16New York, NY+5.3%
- #17San Francisco, CA+5.3%
- #18Los Angeles, CA+5.3%
- #19Seattle, WA+5.3%
- #20Austin, TX+5.3%
Top 10 AI metros
AI and ML roles only.
- #1Indianapolis, IN+8.3%
- #2St. Louis, MO+8.3%
- #3Little Rock, AR+8.3%
- #4Louisville, KY+8.3%
- #5Omaha, NE+8.3%
- #6New York, NY+8.2%
- #7San Francisco, CA+8.2%
- #8Los Angeles, CA+8.2%
- #9Chicago, IL+8.2%
- #10Seattle, WA+8.2%
Top 10 Tech metros
Engineering and software roles.
- #1New York, NY+4.0%
- #2San Francisco, CA+4.0%
- #3Los Angeles, CA+4.0%
- #4Chicago, IL+4.0%
- #5Seattle, WA+4.0%
- #6Austin, TX+4.0%
- #7Boston, MA+4.0%
- #8Denver, CO+4.0%
- #9Dallas, TX+4.0%
- #10Atlanta, GA+4.0%
Where growth is slowest
Metros with the lowest modeled growth in the basket. Modeled projections, not observed metro wage history.
- #1Sioux Falls, SD+4.9%
- #2Des Moines, IA+5.1%
- #3Wichita, KS+5.1%
- #4Charleston, WV+5.1%
- #5Lexington, KY+5.1%
- #6Tulsa, OK+5.1%
- #7Chicago, IL+5.2%
- #8Nashville, TN+5.2%
- #9Charlotte, NC+5.2%
- #10Raleigh, NC+5.2%
How we calculate growth
Each figure is the mean modeled year-over-year growth across a basket of 12 representative tech, AI, and engineering roles. The same national growth assumption is applied to each role in every metro, so metro ordering reflects rounding, not observed metro-level wage differences.
Growth figures are modeled projections and directional only. They are not observed metro wage histories. The underlying base ranges are anchored to BLS OES percentiles. See the methodology page for how the model is built.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions.