TALENT: Supply, demand and the quality conundrum

The number of tech degree graduates (supply) compared with tech talent job creation (demand) in each market to determines whether there is a brain gain or a brain drain. Boston and Washington, D.C. produce more tech talent supply than demand (brain drain), while Toronto, the San Francisco Bay Area and Charlotte create more tech jobs than tech graduates (brain gain).



Quality tech talent is becoming costlier and is creating a conundrum of how to balance these two decision drivers. The number and concentration of top-tier software engineers in each market were weighed against compensation costs. The San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle score highest for both quality and cost. The best value markets are in Canada and the Midwest.