Wichita is among the top metro areas in the nation in high-tech jobs according to a new report. The report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute ranks Wichita No 6. It says almost 15% of jobs in Wichita are considered high-tech.
Cities that rank higher include San Jose, Boulder, Huntsville, Cambridge, and Seattle. “It didn't really surprise me,” says NetApp Vice President Joel Reich. NetApp specializes in data storage and recently expanded operations in Wichita.
“We see a lot of potential in Wichita and talent in Wichita that will position us well in the future,” says Reich. NetApp is based in California and recently announced it plans to hire about 400 more high-tech workers in Wichita over the next five years.
Jeremy Hill with Wichita State's Center for Economic Development says he's not surprised by the report either. “When you look at high-tech…we have a base of high tech here,” says Hill.
Many of the high tech jobs are in the aerospace industry. Hill says we have the people. “The one problem we have is the image. We have the image of being out here in the Midwest. It gives companies a new look.”
Kansas was also highlighted in the report for its six percent growth in high-tech employment. That's the fourth highest growth rate in the nation.
Here is a look at the list of top ten metros for high-tech employment.
Metro % Tech Jobs
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 28.8%
- Boulder, CO 22.7%
- Huntsville, AL 22.4%
- Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA 20.3%
- Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA 18.2%
- Wichita, KS 14.8%
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 13.3%
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 13.3%
- Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, MD 12.6%
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA 12.2%
