A study on the best Midwestern metro areas for tech development ranks the Madison area as number one. The study, published by commercial real estate listing service CommercialCafe, looked at 20 metro areas within the Midwest.
But CommercialCafe ranks the Milwaukee metro area much lower for tech development. The area came in at 17
th out of 20 metro areas, earning 47 out of 115 points.
To establish its rankings, CommercialCafe looked at metrics including the density and growth of tech businesses, the density and growth of tech employment, median tech earnings, patents granted over the last five years, the unemployment rate, educational attainment, and regional price parity. Each metro could earn up to a maximum of 115 points.
Madison earned a total of 66 points. The metro had the highest ratio of tech employment opportunities among all the entries with 71 of every 1,000 occupations being within this sector.
"...The University of Wisconsin-Madison plays a key role in the metro’s tech sector growth as it funnels well-educated graduates and professionals involved in cutting-edge research toward the various tech companies that call Madison home," reads the report.
Tech professionals in Madison are also well-paid for their knowledge and skills as the Wisconsin metro area had the second-highest earnings for jobs in this industry on the list (roughly $89,000 per year).
When it comes to quality of life, the Madison metro was again ranked near the top of the pack at fifth. Approximately 49% of the area’s population aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The metro’s regional price parity, which measures the differences in price levels across states and metropolitan areas for a given year and is expressed as a percentage of the overall national price level, is 96.7%.
Milwaukee placed eighth on the list for number of patents granted to organizations, with 823 patents approved between 2018 and 2022. The Milwaukee metro was also ranked sixth for the number of organizations contributing to its patents with a total of 136 such companies.
Tech professionals working in Milwaukee earn a median income of around $81,000 per year, with income totals increasing 16% between 2017 and 2021.
However, the Milwaukee metro saw only a 0.4% change in the number of tech firms operating between 2017 and 2021.
The area was ranked 13
th for quality of life. Approximately 39% of the area’s population aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Milwaukee metro’s regional price parity is 95.6%.
The third best metro for tech development, according to the report, was Chicago. Earning 59 points, the Chicago metro area earned top scores related to its number of patents and median tech earning, with tech workers earning a median annual salary of $92,290.
