Orlando’s tech employment grew by 2.3% in 2024, the second highest rate among the nation’s 30 most populous regions.
| ✓ | New estimates suggest tech employment in the Orlando region reached almost 78,000 in 2024. |
| ✓ | The region’s tech workforce grew at the second highest rate in 2024 among the nation’s 30 most populous regions. |
| ✓ | There are few opportunities with greater potential to advance Broad-based Prosperity in the region than growing tech employment among underrepresented demographic groups. |
Over the last several years, CompTIA‘s annual State of the Tech Workforce has emerged as the definitive source for monitoring growth in the tech industry across the nation, states, and metro areas. This year’s release again highlights Orlando as one of the fastest-growing regions for tech employment in the country.
Florida’s Fastest-Growing Tech Center
Tech workers in the Orlando MSA numbered 77,700 in 2024 – 1,800 more than in 2023 and 13,400 more than five years ago. Tech employment in the region grew 21% between 2019 and 2024 – approximately double the rate of total employment in the region (10%) and tech employment nationally (11%) over the same period. Tech employment in Orlando is projected to reach nearly 80,000 in 2025.
Orlando’s tech workforce consists of two primary components – workers employed in technology occupations and those working for tech companies. The 78,000 figure captures ‘net tech employment’ – the sum of these two groups less any overlap (in Orlando’s case, 38% of workers in tech occupations also work for tech companies).
In 2024, for the first time ever amid growing adoption of technology across industries, the number of people working in tech occupations in Orlando (48,032) exceeded the number working for tech companies (47,755). Software-related roles accounted for the largest share of workers in tech occupations (39%).
Orlando’s tech employment grew by 2.3% in 2024, the second highest rate among the 30 most populous regions in the country after Sacramento, following well-documented expansions by tech-oriented companies such as ThreatLocker, BNY Mellon, and Charles Schwab. The Orlando region added more tech jobs in absolute terms than any other large region in the U.S. except New York City – and more than Charlotte, Houston, and Dallas combined. More than half of large U.S. regions saw declining tech employment in 2024 as the country’s tech sector labored under layoffs, shrinking 0.1% nationally.
Unrealized Opportunity
At $103,000, the median salary for workers in tech occupations in Orlando in 2024 was more than double the median wage across all occupations in the region – a wage premium that has been present for many years.
At the same time, Orlando’s tech workforce does not reflect the region’s racial and gender diversity. Women and minorities are both underrepresented among tech occupations in Orlando. Just 28% of jobs in tech occupations are held by women, for example, and just 17% and 11% are held by Hispanic and Black workers, respectively.
Underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in tech occupations is a national challenge that is not unique to Orlando. However, when considered alongside tech’s wage premium, the disparity represents a huge opportunity to move the needle on advancing Broad-based Prosperity®. Growing tech employment among groups for whom Orlando’s growth continues to prove inequitable must be a priority for the region.
A Mandate for Action
Regions can always do more to grow and nurture tech employment. In Orlando, where growth in tech occupations can reasonably be expected to occur organically alongside the region’s expanding business base and ongoing adoption of technology, the more challenging opportunity is to grow and scale tech companies.
In 2024, there were 4,715 tech companies with employees in the region – a 58% increase from 2019 but still just 4.9% of the local business base (compared to 5.8% nationally, and 9.9% in Austin). If this region is to lead the economy of the future – by becoming a Top 10 Innovation Hub, as outlined in the Orlando 2045 Regional Vision – then growing this base of innovative, outward-looking companies is critical. Orlando’s current tech sector already makes an outsized contribution to our economy of almost $15 billion annually.
Orlando’s tech evolution in recent years is clear, highlighted by our continued status as one of the fastest-growing regions for tech employment in the country. We must now prioritize attracting and nurturing the tech companies that can drive Orlando’s future as a global, creative capital – and then act intentionally to make sure the opportunities generated by their growth are accessible to all.
Market Commentaries are a series of timely analyses produced by the Orlando Economic Partnership’s Research & Strategy team. Commentaries are typically associated with a major data release or cover areas key to advancing the Partnership’s goal of Broad-based Prosperity®.
