NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- A new report says Nashville has one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the country.
The just released 2018 Scoring Tech Talent report produced by West Coast based CBRE says Music City’s pool of technology workers has grown by 43 percent in five years.
CBRE Director of Research Colin Yasukochi (Yah-su-CO-chee) says tech employers are looking beyond Silicon Valley and other technology centers for a more affordable workforce.
“Labor has become tight in those markets and the costs have risen quite substantially, so tech employers have looked a lot harder at other markets across the country that also produce a lot of good talent and at a lower cost.”
Yasukochi says salaries are lower here, as are the costs for office and factory space. The mid-state also routinely gets high marks on quality of life surveys.
Nashville Technology Council President Brian Moyer says he thinks Middle Tennessee’s tech sector is growing because both the public and private sector have gotten really good a telling the region's story.
“I think that’s starting to have an impact. I think the rest of the country is beginning to see Nashville as a tech innovation center and a place they would want to be I they’re looking for a career in tech.”
Moyer also credits what he calls Nashville "creative ecosystem." He says there are similarities between the creativity that goes into making music and the skills required to, for instance, write computer code.
CBRE’s Colin Yasukochi says the only dark clouds on Nashville’s technology horizon are problems associated with growth, including worsening commute times and rising property values.