RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – A new report that considers the Raleigh-Durham market as one, not separate, ranks the Triangle region as one of the top “Tech Cities” in the United States. And the data the report compiles is seen as giving the area a boost when it comes to companies with site expansion plans.
The report comes as Raleigh-Durham remains a possible choice for Amazon’s HQ2 and a planned new campus for Apple. It also comes just a day after another report concluded that the capital city and Triangle have an image perception problem when it comes to technology.
The Tech Cities 2.0 report from one of the nation’s top corporate real estate firms, Cuschman & Wakefield, lists Raleigh-Durham as a top 25 tech city. And the data looks good for those touting the region as a place for tech as well as life science firms to call home or to expand current operations.
It ranks the Triangle favorably in several statistical areas even when compared to tech hot beds Silicon Valley-San Francisco; Austin, Texas; Washington, D.C. and Boston. While the analysis does not focus on Amazon’s declared 20 finalists for HQ2, of which the Triangle is one, many of the metro areas on that list are included.
Cushman & Wakefield is one of a few companies whose reports about the HQ2 vetting process over the past year that has considered the Raleigh-Durham market as a whole rather than Raleigh and Durham separately. Amazon has said it is considering the Triangle as a possible location.
In the report, Raleigh-Durham is listed as No. 3 for the highest percentage of tech employees in the region’s workforce at 10.9 percent. That percentage only trails Silicon Valley (27.5 percent) and San Francisco (12.3 percent).
Amazon has stressed the importance of tech talent needed for 50,000 jobs as a key requirement to win HQ2.
The area also ranks No. 4 in percentage of workers with a bachelors degree or higher at 47.2 percent. The Triangle trails only Washington D.C. (50.2 percent), Silicon Valley (50.1 percent) and San Francisco (48.5 percent).
Tech skills and education are other priorities for Amazon.
Construction of new office space, with some 2 million square feet being built in the Triangle, puts the region among the leaders of “tech cities.”
The HQ2 project would require several million square feet of office space.
Cushman & Wakefield stressed five points in assessing workforce requirements for a “tech city:”
- Tech workers (total workers at tech companies no matter the occupation)
- High ratio of tech workers to total workers by metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
- Well-educated workforce
- Significant millennial workforce (Ages 20-34)
- Tech-centric occupation workers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics [STEM] positions within an MSA,
regardless of company)
In some areas, Raleigh-Durham doesn’t rank that well:
- 18th for percentage of millennials in the population
- 16th in venture capital
- 15th in venture capital growth
The Triangle is considered one of 10 cities in the report where tech is considered “critical.” The 10:
- Austin
- Boston
- Provo, UT
- Raleigh/Durham
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Salt Lake City
- Seattle
- Silicon Valley
- Washington, DC Metro
Triangle ‘will continue to enjoy being on the radar of technology companies’
Overall, however, the report paints a positive view of the Triangle as a tech hubs, says the firm’s Triangle top executive.
“Raleigh-Durham’s blend of highly educated, available talent; inventory of space; and affordability all keep the region high on technology companies’ site-selection list,” said Bob Van Wormer, who is Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director in the Raleigh-Durham market.
Wormer did not speak directly about Apple, Amazon or any other project but noted in the report’s announcement:
“Added to that is now an undeniable vibe, particularly in the urban cores of Durham and Raleigh, that fosters the energy, creativity, culture and community that tech talent is so clearly seeking. I don’t see any of these dynamics going away anytime soon, and Raleigh-Durham will continue to enjoy being on the radar of technology companies.”
Amazon has said the location for HQ2 will be announced before the end of the year. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said Apple will build a new campus but the company has disclosed no timeline for a decision.
The entire report can be read online.
