Silicon Valley is synonymous with technology and innovation. Nestled in the south of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, this region is home to thousands of high-tech corporations, development companies and start-ups.
Due to its popularity, Silicon Valley has become an incredibly expensive place to live and work. Over the years, other regions across the USA have started to develop as technology hubs, which are attracting both local workers and expats alike.
One of the cities vying for the title of ‘the next Silicon Valley’ is Dallas, a modern and well-populated metropolis in Texas. Where once it was well-known for its links to the oil and textile industries, it has now emerged as a major economic centre with numerous high-profile technology companies setting up a base.

Tech hub

An article in Forbes lists Dallas as one of the cities poised to be the next Silicon Valley Tech Hub. It suggests that its key strengths lie in its number of existing technology companies and a low average real estate price, resulting in high job growth rates. Dallas offers a good level of tech employment, with a thriving and expanding jobs market. These jobs are often from established companies rather than start-ups – as is more common in Silicon Valley – according to an article in the Dallas Business Journal. This could be set to change as the city starts to collate more resources for start-ups, who could be drawn to the area by the lower cost of living and property. For many expats looking to work in America within the technology industry, the abundance of work and its affordability is a good combination.
Texas as a state is now starting to invest in education to help build a new talent pool to support the technology hubs cropping up throughout the Midwest, including Dallas, which in turn will lead to a greater, qualified workforce and the continued growth of the sector.
SmartAsset releases an annual study of the best cities for technology workers in America, based on key criteria including the percent of a city’s population who work in the technology industry, the cost of living and the median income. In the 2016 survey, Dallas placed a reasonable 14^th in the list overall. However, it has one of the highest average salaries of all the top 25 cities and an average cost of living, making it an attractive proposition.

Practicalities

There are practical reasons why Dallas could be the next Silicon Valley too. For example, it is well located within the USA, being right in the centre of the country, making it easy to build links with both East and West Coast companies.
It also has other perks for businesses, with no state or local income tax, giving it an advantage over locations in other states. There is already a good base of major technology companies in Dallas, including Texas Instruments, Dell Services and XEROX. No income tax helps to make Dallas a financially viable place to set up new businesses, which is encouraging news for start-ups. It’s likely that over the next few years, we will see this area really start to bloom.
The Midwest as a whole is definitely the region to watch in the USA when it comes to technology, and Dallas is primed and ready to explode as a key technology hub in the coming years.
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Information correct at time of publication.