In a time of rapid innovation, the Charlotte Region has emerged as a destination for technology talent of all types - from engineering and technician talent in a thriving advanced manufacturing sector, to software development and information security talent in a growing financial services industry, to analytical talent using tech to drive decision-making in the region’s many corporate headquarters operations. As home to the headquarters or largest employment base of three of the six largest U.S. banks, Charlotte is positioned to grow as a FinTech center. More than 40 FinTech firms are located here, including unicorn payments automation company AvidXchange and industry pioneer LendingTree. In addition, more than 6,500 core high-tech talent workers are employed in the financial services industry in the region.
Q2 2019
As innovation spills into all industries, it seems like every company these days is a tech company. In many ways, the tech economy is more about the talent than narrowly defined “tech industry” companies. In this report, we distinguish between four types of talent – core high-tech (those developing new technology), tech-savvy analytical talent (those leveraging that technology for analytical work), engineering talent (those designing technologies) and tech installation and maintenance talent (those installing and maintaining technologies).
Source: Forbes, 2018
Add these four groups up and you get more than 117,000 tech workers across all industries in Charlotte. The region’s growth in core high-tech talent and techadjacent analytical talent has been especially impressive. Since 2013, the region has added more than 13,000 core high-tech jobs and more than 9,000 techadjacent analytical jobs. Source: Robert Half Technology, 2017
Growth of Tech, Engineering and Analytical Talent in the Charlotte Region OCCUPATION GROUP
2018 JOBS
FIVE-YEAR CHANGE, CHARLOTTE REGION
FIVE-YEAR CHANGE, USA
Core High-Tech Talent
52,897
34%
16%
Tech-Savvy Analytical Talent
32,389
40%
22%
Engineering Talent
20,778
18%
7%
Tech Installation and Maintenance Talent
11,630
16%
5%
Total Tech Talent
117,694
30%
14%
Source: EMSI, Q2 2019 Dataset
Source: CompTia, 2018
MAJOR TECH ANNOUNCEMENTS SINCE 2018
TECH COMPANIES IN THE REGION Alexander County Iredell County
Taylorsville
300
Hickory
New Jobs
Statesville
40
Salisbury
Newton
Catawba County
375
Lincolnton
1,229
New Jobs
50
New Jobs
85
Lincoln County
Concord
Albemarle
Cabarrus County
Shelby
Cleveland County
Rowan County
Kannapolis Huntersville
74
New Jobs
Mooresville
321
New Jobs
436
77
85
Gastonia
Stanly County
Gaston County
York County
Chester
485
Mint Hill
Mecklenburg County Indian Trail Union County
Fort Mill
Rock Hill
Chester County
Charlotte
Indian Land
Waxhaw
77 Lancaster County Lancaster
Monroe
Anson County
74
NC SC
Pageland
Chesterfield County
The growth of tech talent in Charlotte has been a driving factor in its economic expansion. The growth of techfocused companies is also shaping region’s future. Major tech companies like IBM and Microsoft maintain large operations here alongside growing unicorns (privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion) like AvidXchange, Red Ventures and Tresata. IT companies like Flexential see Charlotte as a growing Technology hub, and continue to invest in data capacity to meet the demand in the region. Overall, more than 55,000 people work for tech-related companies in the region. The total sector has seen 32% growth since 2013, with growth particularly strong (55%) in IT and software services.
Growth of Tech Sectors, Charlotte Region INDUSTRY GROUP IT Services and Software R&D and Testing Laboratories Telecommunications Tech-related Manufacturing, Repair and Installation Total Tech Industries
2018 JOBS
FIVE-YEAR CHANGE, CLT REGION
FIVE-YEAR CHANGE, USA
30,342 10,154 9,211
55% 33% 13%
26% 7% -9%
5,517
-14%
0%
55,224
32%
11%
Source: EMSI, Q2 2019 Dataset
Example Tech Companies, Charlotte Region COMPANY
COUNTY
DESCRIPTION
REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT
Red Ventures Microsoft Corp IBM Corp Dimension Data NTT Data Inc CompuCom Systems Inc Flexential ESRI/Environmental Systems Research Inst Xenial Siemens PLM Software SentryOne Integration Point Inc MapAnything Inc Mergent
Lancaster Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Lancaster Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg York
Internet Marketing Computers, Computer Equip & Software Consultancy Services IT Consulting Computer Related Services, Other Tech Services for Office Depot Computer Facilities Management Services Mapping Software for All Industries Cloud Management for Restaurant Industry Automation Software Software Developer for Financial Industry Import/Export Software Mapping Software for Salesforce Market Research Software
2500+ 1,000-2500 500-999 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500
Sources: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Research, Business Wise, Industry Databases, Charlotte Business Journal
More than 52,000 core high-tech talent workers live and work in Charlotte. What makes Charlotte unique is where these high-skilled Software Developers, Information Security Analysts, Systems Managers work. Nearly 35% of tech talent works for Corporate Headquarters, Finance and Insurance or Consulting Services, compared to 26% nationwide. Core tech talent industries like software publishers and computer systems design services are growing in Charlotte as well. About 35% of the region’s tech talent works in core tech industries, compared to 29% nationwide.
Health Care
Educational Services
Wholesale Trade Manufacturing
(Excluding Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing)
4%
Information
(Excluding Software Publishers and Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services)
4%
3% 3%
5%
Other
6%
Adminstrative Support and Waste Management
6%
35%
Charlotte's Tech Talent by Industry
Core High-Tech
10% Professional Services & Consulting (excluding Computer Systems Design)
Source: CBRE
12% Finance & Insurance
12% Corporate Headquarters
Charlotte is a magnet for tech talent from throughout the country. Alumni from top-ranked tech schools in the Carolinas find their way, and tend to stay, in the Charlotte region.
Tech Alumni from Carolinas Universities
Tech Alumni from National Universities
SCHOOL
ESTIMATED TECH ALUMNI
SCHOOL
ESTIMATED TECH ALUMNI
UNC Charlotte North Carolina State Appalachian State UNC Chapel Hill University of South Carolina Clemson University Winthrop University East Carolina University Western Carolina University UNC Greensboro
9,698 2,838 2,004 2,699 1,603 1,320 1,178 1,024 834 722
Virginia Tech Pennsylvania State State University of New York Georgia Tech University of Florida Purdue University Ohio State University University of Tennessee Florida State University University of Maryland
750 564 489 431 370 364 330 301 294 260
Source: EMSI Profile Analytics, Q2 2019
Source: EMSI Profile Analytics, Q2 2019
Nearly 20,000 engineering certificates and degrees awarded annually Nearly 13,000 computer science certificates and degrees awarded annually
330 S. Tryon Street • Charlotte, NC 28202 • 704.378.1300 • www.charlotteregion.com