Editor’s note: Vancouver’s ranking has been updated from #16 to #11, as CBRE stated there was a tabulation error.
Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE) recently released its North American tech talent report, and Vancouver dropped significantly in the rankings.
Last year, Vancouver was ranked #8, but it dropped three spots to #11 in 2024.
CBRE attributes that to less job growth in Vancouver than its North American industry rivals, including Toronto, which shot right up the rankings to #4 thanks to the city’s job growth in tech.
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According to CBRE, tech hiring has slowed across the 75 North American markets included in the report. CBRE says tech talent” refers to “a group of highly-skilled workers in more than 20 tech-oriented occupations.”
It uses software engineers as well as systems and data managers as examples.
“Four Canadian cities produced the highest percentage increase of tech talent jobs, which points to the strength of the tech sector in Canada,” said CBRE Canada Chairman Paul Morassutti in a statement.
Vancouver is not one of those cities. Morassutti is talking about Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, and the Waterloo region. Despite Calgary’s gains, Vancouver is still above it in the rankings.
The CBRE report considers various metrics when determining each city’s position in the tech ranking, including office rent, vacancy trends, and even the cost of living in each city.
We spoke to Jeremy Shaki, CEO of Lighthouse Labs, earlier this year about strengths and growth challenges in the Vancouver tech scene.
“I think Vancouver has a lot of big strengths,” Jeremy Shaki told Daily Hive.
Shaki said that Vancouver’s proximity to Silicon Valley was one of those strengths.
One of the challenges is the cost of living.
“[Vancouver] is a very expensive place to live, and if you’re trying to build a start-up, you don’t have a lot of money to do it,” said Shaki. “Why would you hire in cities where you know everyone needs higher-than-average salaries?”
Despite Vancouver’s drop in the overall tech talent rankings, CBRE still considers it a leading market in artificial intelligence.