Nice Payoff

Dallas-Fort Worth tech jobs rate among the highest paying in the U.S.

Indeed calculated the average salary for 158 tech occupations in 25 metro areas.

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Dallas-Fort Worth sits in the top 10 among American tech hubs where the paychecks of tech workers stretch the furthest, a new study shows.

The study, conducted by Austin-based job website Indeed, ranks 25 of the country’s tech hubs based on where the average tech worker’s salary is highest when adjusted for the local cost of living. DFW appears at No. 7 on the list, with an identical actual salary and adjusted salary of $101,649.

While DFW ranks seventh overall, it’s in first place for the average adjusted salary of two tech occupations:

Data scientist — $140,000
iOS developer — $125,000

To compile the ranking, Indeed calculated the average salary for 158 tech occupations in 25 metro areas using annual salary information posted on Indeed between August 2016 and July 2017.

The Austin area shows up at No. 3 in the Indeed ranking, with an average actual tech salary of $103,914 and an average tech salary adjusted for cost of living of $103,394. Among the 25 metro areas, Austin ranks first for the average adjusted salary of a front-end developer ($115,578).

In Central Texas, a $100,000 tech job “will get you more bedrooms, avocado toasts, and climbing-gym memberships” than a $100,000 tech job in coastal California, according to Indeed.

The Houston area doesn’t fare as well in the Indeed ranking. There, the average actual tech salary is $97,751, but the average tech salary adjusted for cost of living is $98,631.

At No. 1 on Indeed’s list is Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by Atlanta (No. 2); Austin (No. 3); San Francisco (No. 4); Seattle (No. 5); and San Jose, California (No. 6).

In last place, at No. 25, is Miami-Fort Lauderdale.

“After Charlotte and Atlanta, four leading tech hubs — Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, and San Jose — follow in a near tie for adjusted tech salaries,” Indeed says. “That means that the premiums in those eye-popping San Francisco and Silicon Valley paychecks get entirely wiped out relative to Austin and Seattle when the Bay Area’s high living costs are factored in.”

Indeed adds that while a tech salary goes furthest in Charlotte and Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Seattle offer “a richer selection of tech jobs to choose from, with salaries that will stretch nicely.”

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New money

Texas Stock Exchange launches trading on 'Y'all Street' in Dallas

Photo by Oren Elbaz on Unsplash

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Two-step aside, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange, nicknamed Y’all Street, just kicked off live trading with five stocks for now — and with lots of Lone Star ambition.

“The Texas Stock Exchange aims to revitalize competition for [stock] issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants,” the exchange says in a fact sheet.

The exchange — whose Texas-influenced nickname is a nod to New York City’s Wall Street — has collected at least $275 million in investments. The roughly 90 financial backers of TXSE include Bank of America, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Dell Family Office, Fortress, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase.

Representatives of TXSE couldn’t be reached for comment. On its website, the exchange calls itself “the most well-capitalized equities exchange to ever be approved” by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Not to be outdone, NYSE has launched Dallas-based NYSE Texas and Nasdaq has expanded its presence in Dallas.

Y’all Street adds to Dallas-Fort Worth’s rising status as a major hub for financial services, with The Wall Street Journal naming North Texas the country’s second biggest financial hub after New York City. Among the biggest DFW players in financial services are:

Financial services provider Charles Schwab
Banking company Comerica
Auto lender Santander Consumer USA
Banking company Texas Capital Bancshares
Lender GM Financial
Investment bank Goldman Sachs
Financial services provider Fidelity
Banking conglomerate JPMorgan Chase
Megabank Wells Fargo

“A homegrown national exchange means more jobs, more investment, and more growth opportunities for businesses and communities across the Lone Star State,” Gabriela von zur Muehlen, senior vice president and chief policy officer at the Texas Association of Business, told The Texas Tribune.

In a move that will further elevate DFW’s status as a financial powerhouse, Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot corporate campus near the American Airlines Center. The campus, with an initial price tag of $500 million, will be able to accommodate more than 5,000 employees when it opens in 2028; it’ll be Goldman Sachs’ largest office outside New York City.

Driven by DFW, the financial services sector now plays a massive role in Texas’ status as the Financial Capital of America, as declared by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Bulent Temel, an associate professor of practice in economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, told Texas Standard that TXSE “is going to boost the credibility of the Texas economy.”

Texas’ estimated gross domestic product (GDP), a yardstick for the size of an economy, climbed to a record-setting $2.9 trillion in 2025, making it the state with the second highest GDP after California. DFW’s estimated GDP in 2023 stood at $744.6 billion, eclipsing the GDP of many countries.

“The center of gravity for American capitalism is now headquartered in the Boom Belt,” Abbott proclaimed in April, referring to an 11-state region (including Texas) in the South and Southeast that’s seeing tremendous economic and population growth. “The Texas Stock Exchange is the natural extension of that capitalism. It ensures that capital markets will reflect the quadrant that is driving American growth.”

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