This post profiles America’s largest job markets for Computer Programmers (Standard Occupation Code: 15-1251). It is part of a series that profiles the major job markets for content creation-related careers.
The table below lists America’s 25 largest metro area job markets for Computer Programmers. It provides information on the total number of people in that occupation, the mean annual wage, the number of jobs per 1000, and the ‘location quotient’. The location quotient is the ratio of the percentage of jobs in that occupation locally to the percentage nationally. A score above one denotes that more jobs in that occupation are present in the local area compared to the national average, while a score below one indicates fewer jobs in the local area relative to the national average. Click here for more details on the data and methods employed to produce this information
| Rank | Metro Area | Total Jobs | Jobs per 1k | Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 12,330 | 1.42 | 1.31 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 5,720 | 2.55 | 2.35 |
| 3 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 4,910 | 1.68 | 1.55 |
| 4 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 4,900 | 0.86 | 0.79 |
| 5 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 4,640 | 1.29 | 1.19 |
| 6 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | 4,480 | 1.73 | 1.60 |
| 7 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 3,970 | 2.85 | 2.63 |
| 8 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 3,840 | 3.59 | 3.32 |
| 9 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 3,460 | 1.80 | 1.67 |
| 10 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 2,740 | 1.03 | 0.95 |
| 11 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 2,230 | 0.53 | 0.49 |
| 12 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 2,090 | 0.81 | 0.75 |
| 13 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 2,080 | 0.72 | 0.66 |
| 14 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 1,940 | 1.81 | 1.67 |
| 15 | Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA | 1,740 | 1.77 | 1.64 |
| 15 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 1,740 | 0.96 | 0.89 |
| 17 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 1,650 | 3.93 | 3.63 |
| 18 | Salt Lake City, UT | 1,620 | 2.18 | 2.01 |
| 19 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 1,600 | 1.27 | 1.17 |
| 20 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 1,540 | 0.73 | 0.67 |
| 21 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 1,530 | 0.62 | 0.57 |
| 22 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 1,230 | 1.09 | 1.01 |
| 23 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 1,170 | 0.96 | 0.89 |
| 24 | Madison, WI | 1,160 | 3.06 | 2.83 |
Some observations from the table:
- Several California markets have comparatively large programming job markets, relative to their populations: San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose. Los Angeles’ programming job market is comparatively small.
- Although New York has the largest programming market, it is only slightly large relative to the overall metro area size.
- Though they are smaller areas, the following metros have larger programming markets: Albany, Madison, and Salt Lake City.
- Many major metros have particularly small programming job markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Housing, Phoenix, and Miami.
