Houston Named Nerd City
We're Nerd City! Houston ranks No. 1 in America for tech, science and engineering jobs
The Greater Houston area, including the Woodlands and Sugar Land, is No. 1 overall metro area in America for professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), according to a study from WalletHub.
The personal finance social network site analyzed the 100 most populated metropolitan statistical areas across 11 key metrics to assist STEM professionals in finding the best markets for their occupations.
The Greater Houston area not only emerged as the No. 1. overall, but also came in first for the annual median wage for STEM workers — adjusted for cost of living — with an average yearly income of $79,589. Additionally, Houston ranks 11th in the nation for both annual median wage growth and employment growth in those fields.
The Houston market also ranks 17th for high schools with STEM programs and 18th for housing affordability for STEM professionals.
Coming in second as best metro area for STEM workers overall is Austin-Round Rock, which also ranks No. 5 in the nation for the highest percent of all workers in STEM professions. Austin comes in at No. 7 in the annual median wage for STEM workers with an average yearly income of $74,058.
According to Department of Commerce estimates, STEM professions are expected to expand 1.7 times faster than other occupations between 2008 and 2018.