Top 20 Tech Areas in Northeastern U.S.
CommercialCafe has ranked the 20 best Northeastern metro areas for tech development by analyzing local business ratios, employment figures, patent counts, unemployment rates, and educational attainment. The region’s strong network of educational institutions and wealthy corporations provided the necessary resources to establish the Northeast as a center of technology and innovation.
Boston Leads the Pack
Boston emerged as the top tech metro in the Northeast, boasting the highest ratio of tech to non-tech employment at 59 of every 1,000 jobs. The city also recorded the second-highest median salaries for tech workers at around $105,800 a year, and 37 of every 1,000 companies operate in the tech space. Boston was the only metro in the top five to gain tech companies between 2017 and 2021, increasing its total by 1.4%. This stability amidst broader market fluctuations shows the city’s robust ecosystem, where established corporations and startups alike find favorable conditions to thrive.
Trenton, New Jersey, ranked second overall despite having a metro population less than one-seventh the size of Boston’s. The report notes that Trenton punches far above its weight when it comes to tech. Its tech workers earn the highest median income in the region at $123,500, representing a 22.8% increase from 2017 to 2021. The metro also features 51 tech jobs for every 1,000 workers and 60 tech firms for every 1,000 companies—the highest level in the Northeast. This high concentration of firms indicates a thriving local business environment that supports a dense network of professional relationships and collaborative opportunities.
Growth Across the Region
Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire, came in third, with 55 tech jobs for every 1,000 workers. An influx of tech and medical tech companies has bolstered the area, while smaller firms benefit from local higher education institutions. Manchester maintains a low unemployment rate of 1.4% and a median tech income of $99,000. The report describes the city as one of the Northeast’s most promising pockets of innovation. The cooperation between the growing industry and the educational sector creates a sustainable pipeline of talent that keeps the local economy robust and attractive to new enterprises.
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The New York City metro expanded beyond its traditional finance and insurance strengths to integrate technology, now employing 41 of every 1,000 workers in the sector. The city reports a median income of $101,000 and 23 tech firms for every 1,000 companies. Portland, Maine, pulled into fifth place, just one point behind New York, despite a lower tech employment density than the leaders. The city recorded the second highest tech employment growth in the entire study, with a 56.3% increase in workers and a 32% rise in median salaries to $90,000. This rapid expansion demonstrates how smaller metros can leverage specific niches to achieve significant growth in a competitive market.
Bridgeport, Connecticut; Philadelphia; Albany, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; and Burlington, Vermont filled out the top 10. The presence of these smaller cities, which are research university centers, highlights the Northeast as an area of innovation sourced from both higher and lower-density areas. Two Pennsylvania metros saw the fastest growth of tech companies in the Northeast between 2017 and 2021: York-Hanover (16.2%) and Reading (12.1%).
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, led the way in job growth with a 62% increase in tech employment between 2017 and 2021, followed closely by Portland (56.3%). Other metros with rapid employment growth included Norwich, Connecticut (48%), Springfield, Massachusetts (44%), and Reading (43%). These figures illustrate a widespread phenomenon where the benefits of the tech boom are reaching communities well beyond the major metropolitan hubs.
Patents and Prosperity
New York secured the top spot for patent activity in the Northeast, receiving 43,820 patents between 2018 and 2022. The Boston area won 15,508 patents to come in second. Philadelphia came in third, with 3,839, followed by Albany with 2,389 and Bridgeport with 1,617 – all with high-ranking, research-intensive universities, the report noted. New York’s patents were awarded to 1,580 different companies and organizations, while Boston’s went to 1,460. But for companies seeking quality of life, Burlington can’t be beat in the Northeast, according to the report. Other havens to be considered include Manchester, Portland, Boston and Albany.
