North Texas’ technology and data center boom are a boon for the area’s workforce, according to an annual report released this week by CBRE.
In 2021, Dallas-Fort Worth counted a technology workforce of around 180,000. By 2024, that number had jumped to over 227,000 — the 2nd biggest increase of any American metro region, the commercial real estate giant’s data found.
D-FW’s recent addition of nearly 50,000 tech workers, a 26% increase, ranked second only to a jump in New York’s overall numbers, CBRE said. That positioned North Texas as 5th among American metro areas for its overall number of tech workers.
The San Francisco Bay Area topped the list, with more than 400,000 tech workers, followed by Greater New York, Washington, D.C. and L.A.-Orange County.
Business Briefing
Computer support, database and systems workers made up the largest share of D-FW’s tech workforce, CBRE’s data showed, followed closely by software developers and programmers.
The report also counted nearly 20,000 AI-specific tech workers in North Texas, a number that ranked 7th among U.S. metro areas. In addition, the sector’s growth has sparked a rebound in high-tech office leasing, CBRE noted.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by CBRE, last year D-FW’s tech workforce had an average annual wage of around $125,000 — more than a third higher than the region’s overall average.
D-FW’s surge in tech workers comes as North Texas continues to experience surging economic and population growth, with the region on track to hit 10 million residents within 10 years, which would make it the country’s third largest metro area.
Tech companies, including artificial intelligence startup Cognigy, and high-tech audio company Qsic, have recently joined major financial players like Goldman Sachs and TIAA in a wave of corporate expansions and relocations to the region, while longtime local stalwarts, like AT&T, also employ large numbers of tech workers.
North Texas has also seen a boom in data centers: Last month, Wistron, a large Taiwanese electronics company, announced it had selected two sites in Denton County for new AI chip facilities that together will span more than 1 million feet. The project involves investments of more than $750 million, and will create more than 800 jobs.
In a statement, Jackie Lai, a Wistron executive, called Fort Worth the company’s “optimal choice,” citing its “talent availability, robust logistics infrastructure and a vibrant industrial ecosystem.”
Local and state political and business leaders have been eager to highlight the growth: At a ceremonial bill signing in Fort Worth in June, Gov. Greg Abbott referred to the city as “a linchpin” that “attracts so many of these Fortune 500 companies to this region.”