SLC among top U.S. metros in tech workforce growth, new study finds

The Salt Lake City metropolitan area saw a 2 percent increase in technology-sector employment in 2024, according to a new report from CompTIA Inc., a worldwide provider of information technology training and certifications, with offices in Salt Lake City.

The Salt Lake market added an estimated 1,405 jobs, the fourth-highest total among major metro markets.

The report, “State of the Tech Workforce 2025,” projects a 3.8 percent increase for 2025 based on available information at the time of publication. That would add more than 2,700 jobs to the Salt Lake City tech workforce.

Meanwhile, technology employment across the United States continues to expand in depth and breadth. Despite an uneven economic environment for much of the past two years, CompTIA analysis found the U.S. tech workforce grew by 1.2 percent during 2024, adding approximately 72,500 net new workers to the base of tech employment across the economy.

The leading contributors to growth spanned the core pillars of technology: data, cybersecurity, infrastructure and tech enablement job roles. Some categories, notably software and web development, did lag due to market and technological disruption factors. The impact of artificial intelligence is growing rapidly on a percentage change basis as seen in employer job listing data for AI positions and positions specifying AI skills.

CompTIA’s report includes a comprehensive analysis of tech occupation salaries at five different percentile levels to better reflect earnings growth at different career stages and progressions. Cost-of-living-adjusted earnings provides another layer of insight. Across all tech occupation categories covered in the report, the 2024 median wage, also referred to as the 50th percentile or midpoint, was an estimated $109,762 in the Salt Lake City market. That translated to a 112 percent premium over the overall median wage for all occupations.

Other Salt Lake City highlights from the 2025 report include:

• The economic impact of the tech sector in the state was $13.1 billion.

• Tech employment represented 8.5 percent of the overall workforce.

• Utah had 7,552 tech business establishments.

• There were 2,181 job listings in the state in 2024 that mentioned AI skills.

At nearly 150 pages, CompTIA’s “State of the Tech Workforce” includes information on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. The report is available through CompTIA’s website at www.comptia.org.