Best States 2021: 10 States With The Biggest Forecast Tech Job Gains (And 10 With The Smallest)

Here’s a look at the 10 states that are expected to post the biggest increases in their tech talent pools this year and the 10 states that are expected to record the smallest gains – and even declines – in their total tech job rosters.

Where The Tech Workers Are

Having a large pool of educated, experienced technology workers can make the job of finding and hiring tech workers easier for solution providers looking to fill vacancies or meet their growth needs.

Here we list the 10 states that are forecast to add the most tech jobs to their total tech pool this year, ranked No. 10 up to No. 1 – the state projected to add the most tech jobs in 2021. We then list the states, from No. 41 to No. 50, with the smallest forecast tech job increases this year – which in the cases of No. 49 and No. 50 are projected to actually record declines in tech job totals.

(We provide the actual numbers of forecast tech job gains and losses, on which the rankings are based, as well as the forecast percentage increase or decrease for each state’s tech employment.)

We also include data about how each state fared in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. Some states managed to grow their total tech employment during the tumultuous year while many saw their tech worker rosters shrink. We also include the total tech employment numbers for each state as of the close of 2020.

The state tech employment data comes from the CompTIA Cyberstates 2021 report. CompTIA’s tech employment numbers for each state includes employees in the IT industry (including non-technical professionals such as sales, marketing and finance); technical professionals working across all segments of the economy (such as IT managers and support professionals working for a manufacturer or financial services company); and self-employed technical professionals.

This slide show is part of CRN’s 2021 Best States project that includes the Best States: The Challenge Of Finding Tech Talent In 2021 article, the state-by state ranking for finding tech talent, and a wide range of data about tech worker education, salaries and other statistics.

No. 10: Colorado

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 7,513

Percent Increase: 2.3

Colorado added 3,767 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.2 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 313,260 tech workers.

No. 9: Virginia

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 8,523

Percent Increase: 1.9

Virginia added 3,032 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.7 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 451,268 tech workers

No. 8: Massachusetts

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 8,657

Percent Increase: 1.9

Massachusetts added 2,456 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.5 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 450,548 tech workers.

No. 7: Georgia

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 8,766

Percent Increase: 2.3

Georgia added 916 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.2 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 370,068 tech workers.

No. 6: North Carolina

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 10,035

Percent Increase: 2.7

North Carolina added 2,609 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.7 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 362,686 tech workers.

No. 5: Washington

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 11,011

Percent Increase: 2.6

Washington added 5,222 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.3 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 405,816 tech workers.

No. 4: New York

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 13,868

Percent Increase: 2.0

New York added 2,002 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.3 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 670,806 tech workers.

No. 3: Florida

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 16,035

Percent Increase: 2.6

Florida added 3,623 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.6 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 595,156 tech workers.

No. 2: Texas

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 29,171

Percent Increase: 2.7 percent

Texas added 11,862 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.1 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 1,060,588 tech workers.

No. 1: California

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 41,632

Percent Increase: 2.2

California added 8,680 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.5 percent gain, closing the year with a total of 1,882,167 tech workers.

No. 41: Mississippi

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 524

Percent Increase: 1.1

Mississippi lost 211 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.5 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 45,410 tech workers.

No. 42: Rhode Island

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 457

Percent Increase: 1.3

Rhode Island lost 349 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.0 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 35,426 tech workers.

No. 43: West Virginia

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 451

Percent Increase: 1.5

West Virginia lost 103 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.3 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 30,130 tech workers.

No. 44: North Dakota

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 315

Percent Increase: 1.4

North Dakota lost 74 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.3 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 21,443 tech workers.

No. 45: Connecticut

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 252

Percent Increase: 0.2

Connecticut lost 1,091 tech jobs in 2020, a 0.8 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 137,744 tech workers.

No. 46: Vermont

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 187

Percent Increase: 0.8

Vermont lost 220 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.0 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 22,509 tech workers.

No. 47: Wyoming

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 161

Percent Increase: 1.6

Wyoming lost 122 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.3 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 9,621 tech workers.

No. 48: Alaska

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: 130

Percent Increase: 0.7

Alaska lost 286 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.6 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 17,914 tech workers.

No. 49: Hawaii

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: -44

Percent Decrease: -0.1

Hawaii lost 416 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.4 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 30,465 tech workers, closing 2020 with a total of x tech workers.

No. 50: Delaware

Projected Tech Job Gains In 2021: -62

Percent Decrease: -0.2

Delaware lost 490 tech jobs in 2020, a 1.6 percent loss, closing the year with a total of 31,243 tech workers.