the new tech cities

2 Dallas neighbors rank among top 10 best U.S. cities for tech workers

North Texas has two of the top cities for tech workers.

Gaining and maintaining a level of success in the ever-changing tech industry often hinges on the environment one lives and works in, and two North Texas cities are among the best: Plano and Frisco.

Plano's new elite tech city status comes from a new report "The Top Tech Cities in the US: Ranking 100 Cities in 2024" by online security experts Cloudwards. They examined 100 tech-reliant cities in the nation across 17 key indicators, including salaries for information technology professionals, a city's cost of living, internet quality, job opportunities and tech-related companies, and more.

Plano is the No. 4 best tech city in the nation and the best in Texas (event outshining Austin, which ranked No. 7). Frisco came in at No. 10.

Here's how Plano stacked up in the major categories in the study:

No. 1 – Internet Coverage and Quality
No. 2 – Cost of Living and Tech Salaries
No. 25 – Innovation and Entrepreneurship
No. 33 – Career and Education
No. 59 – Tech Community

Over 1,000 tech companies reside in Plano, the study found, including major employers like McAfee and CompuCom Systems Inc. The report additionally found there were 619 IT-related jobs advertised in the city in January 2024, or about 213 open positions per 100,000 city residents.

With a lot of employers still embracing remote work, having a good wifi connection can make or break a person's ability to work from home. The study found about 96 percent of Plano households have internet access, which is a must in today's internet-dependent workforce. The city has the best internet download speeds in the nation, at 216.25 Mbps, while the city's median broadband internet speed is 249.02 Mbps.

IT professionals in Plano make an average salary of $95,733 per year, which is another attractive selling point for the city and its livability factor, the study said.

"...Plano offers a perfect blend of urban and suburban, and it’s a great place to live, start a family or retire," the report's author wrote. "The city ranks high in the livability index, emerging second overall due to low crime rates and a relatively low cost of living."

Plano wasn't the only North Texas city to earn a spot among the top 10. Frisco ranked No. 10 in the nation, earning the title as "the most livable city in the U.S." according to Cloudwards.

"IT professionals make up the second-largest occupation set in this North Texas city, making up about 12 percent of the total workforce," the report said. "Its low tax rate, low crime rate and reasonable cost of living make it a popular choice for IT professionals."

Average salaries for IT professionals in Frisco come out to about $95,516 annually, which is only a $217 difference from Plano. Frisco also has a lower crime rate than Plano, at 10.56 per 1,000 residents, compared to Plano's 18.3 per 1,000 residents.

In a separate recent study, Frisco had the second largest remote workforce in the U.S.

Here's how other North Texas cities fared outside the top 10:

No. 16 – Arlington
No. 21 – Garland
No. 29 – Fort Worth
No. 33 – Dallas
No. 38 – Irving

Nationally, the cities that round out the top five most tech-savvy cities in the U.S. are New York City, New York (No. 1), Washington, D.C. (No. 2), San Francisco, California (No. 3), and Jersey City, New Jersey (No. 5).

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Landing Soon

New air taxi network to land at major Dallas-Fort Worth airports in 2027

Courtesy photo

Archer will launch air taxi networks across Texas in 2027.

California-based aerospace company Archer Aviation is bringing its air-taxi system to the “Texas triangle” of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin in 2027.

The zero-emission electric air taxi networks will use Archer’s Midnight air taxi to “turn 60- to 90-minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10- to 20-minute flights,” the company said in a news release. Archer plans to begin flights in the Texas triangle next year.

The Midnight air taxi is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It can carry four passengers and a pilot and is designed for consecutive flights of about 20 miles.

Archer cites the Texas triangle as one of the busiest and fastest-growing “megaregions” in the country, due to its proximity to coastal regions, major airports, and a number of business districts.

“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said in the release. “Our planned networks will make the benefits of electric air taxis real for Texans — trading hours in traffic for minutes in the air, while connecting the biggest airports, business districts and sporting hubs in ways that America’s largest megaregion needs to grow.”

Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel described the air taxi experience to CW Houston as “100 times quieter than a helicopter for the price of an Uber Black.” He added that the air taxis are a combination of a helicopter, a small airplane, and a drone.

The Dallas-Fort Worth network is slated to include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, plus major business hubs like Frisco Station.

In Houston, Archer’s air taxi network will aim to connect George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby, and Sugar Land Regional Airport with downtown destinations and Galveston.

In Austin, it plans to link Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas. Archer debuted its Midnight aircraft at the F1 Prix in the Fan Zone and the F1 Paddock at COTA.

Archer is working with state and local partners to develop charging infrastructure and plans to pursue Texas operations through the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. It recently completed its "No Roads" flight tour, which included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay, and flew to seven cities over three days.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

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