California's Best Cities for Tech Jobs

It’s no surprise that most people are drawn to the tech industry—the salaries and benefits in the sector are rewarding. Research shows that tech employees tend to be happier thanks to their workplace’s flexibility and impressive paychecks. Many of them also have the option of working remotely, which eliminates the need for a daily commute. 

California continues to be the dominant state for tech jobs. Most people think of Silicon Valley when talking about the tech industry, and for good reason—it’s the most well-known tech hub. Although the region is home to many of the best cities for tech jobs, there are several other areas in California that have a strong tech presence. 

If the tech industry is calling your name, make a move and settle down in the Golden State cities with the most tech jobs. 

The Top Cities For Tech Jobs In California

1. San Francisco

If you’re looking for tech jobs in San Francisco, you’re in for a treat. Thanks to the Internet boom during the 1990s, S.F. became a global center for tech-driven economic growth. There were over 50,000 job opportunities in tech firms between 1999 and 2000 alone. Major companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Twitter also opened offices in S.F., which led to the increase of tech employment. 

The tech industry here shows no signs of slowing down—every year, it continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The most in-demand tech jobs in the Bay Area are software engineer, senior software engineer, product manager, full-stack developer, and software architect. With plenty of areas for young professionals to reside in S.F., the city remains one of the top cities for tech jobs. 

2. San Jose

The economic, cultural, and political center of Silicon Valley is none other than San Jose, the largest city in Northern California. As one of the wealthiest cities in the United States, San Jose swiftly transitioned from an agricultural community to an urbanized metropolitan area. When IBM established its West Coast headquarters here in 1952, it laid the foundation for the economy’s technological side. Soon, the hard-disk drive and the IBM 305 RAMAC were invented in San Jose.

Consistently ranking high in California tech jobs, San Jose is home to many large companies, including Cisco Systems, eBay, Adobe, Broadcom, and Zoom. Since more than half of San Jose’s population has a college degree, residents are more likely to land a better-paying job. Young professionals tend to live in Edenvale. In-demand positions in San Jose include software engineer, senior software engineer, principal software engineer, software architect, and senior product manager. 

3. Sacramento

There has been a recent increase in tech jobs in Sacramento, much of which is attributed to talented computer science graduates from California State University, Sacramento. (According to several studies, 85 percent of graduates are employed within the first six months.) With all the buzz that’s been generated recently, companies like Zennify and Aerojet Rocketdyne made the move to Sacramento to hire skilled and highly trained tech workers. So, techies in Silicon Valley may want to consider making the move to Sacramento from the Bay Area. 

As a fast-growing tech city, Sacramento acquired a reputation as the “next Silicon Valley.” The Greater Sacramento Region has over 100 biotech and medical device companies that specialize in everything from pharmaceuticals to stem cell research. The city also has a strong technology manufacturing presence—Intel, TSI Semiconductors, and Aerojet Rocketdyne are majors employers within the area.

4. Sunnyvale

Located south of Palo Alto, Sunnyvale has proven to be a small city with great potential. When Santa Clara County went from fruit canning to high tech after World War II, Sunnyvale wasted no time in keeping up with the growth. Aerospace company Lockheed Martin soon moved its headquarters here, marking the beginning of the tech industry’s boom.

Not long after, a fresh crop of California tech jobs was created within the tight-knit, family-friendly community—companies such as Advanced Micro Devices, LinkedIn, and Yahoo established headquarters and opened several offices here. Like San Jose, the most in-demand jobs in Sunnyvale are software engineers, senior software engineers, principal software engineers, software architects, and senior product managers.

5. Milpitas

As a part of Silicon Valley, Milpitas has grown to house some of the biggest names in the technology industry ever since it was incorporated in 1953. Many residents are employed in the computer and electronic product manufacturing industry—26.9 percent of women and 34.1 percent of men living here have tech jobs.  

Many people are drawn to Milpitas because it offers plenty of job opportunities in the industry while maintaining a fairly low cost of living. Cybersecurity company FireEye and Linear Technology Corporation are headquartered here. 

6. Los Angeles

With more companies aiming to plant roots outside of Silicon Valley, the Los Angeles metropolitan area is where they’re setting their sights. Although the economy heavily relies on the entertainment industry, the technology sector is making gains with the creation of Snapchat and Tinder. The influence has been so significant that the Westside region of Los Angeles gained a new nickname—Silicon Beach.

There are currently over 500 tech companies and start-ups in Silicon Beach. With plenty of neighborhoods for young professionals to live in, there’s no shortage of tech jobs in Los Angeles. The most sought-after positions here are software engineer, senior software engineer, systems engineer, principal software engineer, and full-stack developer.

7. Pasadena

Pasadena may be small and under the radar, but the city has one thing that stands out from every other tech hub—the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which has long been one of the world’s leading private research universities. Nobel Prize laureates Carl David Anderson, Linus Pauling, William Alfred Fowler, and Edward B. Lewis all graduated from Caltech. Co-founder and CEO of Quora, Adam D’Angelo, is a Caltech alum as well. 

Companies like Tetra Tech and Green Dot Corporation also help make Pasadena a tech hub. As one of the best cities for tech jobs, Pasadena is an excellent spot to kick-start your career in the tech industry. 

8. Venice

Venice is part of Silicon Beach, the United States’ newest and biggest technology hub. Although primarily known as a fun and eccentric beach destination, Venice didn’t fall behind when it came to the tech industry. Due to the presence of several technology companies—including Google, Snap,  Dollar Shave Club, Zefr, and Whisper—property values in Venice are gradually increasing. 

Many other start-ups and tech companies are moving to the area thanks to the thriving industry. Product discovery platform StackCommerce, global marketing research company System1, and leading entertainment software company Wevr are all headquartered in Venice now.

9. San Diego

San Diego has made a significant effort to recruit skilled tech workers from Silicon Valley and lure them to SoCal. The city recently emerged as a biotechnology development hub thanks to the University of California, San Diego, and Jacobs Medical Center. San Diego’s IT sector even experienced a 188-percent increase in revenue growth over three years. 

Over 400 biotechnology companies now have offices in San Diego, including Illumina and Neurocrine Biosciences. Qualcomm—famous for designing and manufacturing semiconductors and wireless telecommunications products—is headquartered here, too. It goes without saying that people working in biotech have greater chances of finding tech jobs in San Diego.