Market Commentaries are a series of timely analyses produced by the Orlando Economic Partnership’s Market Intelligence team. Commentaries are typically associated with a major data release or cover areas key to advancing the Partnership’s goal of Broad-based Prosperity®.
| ✓ | New estimates suggest tech employment in the Orlando region reached 74,000 in 2023. |
| ✓ | The region’s tech workforce grew at the second highest rate in 2023 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 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 approximately 74,000 in 2023 – 2,000 more than in 2022 and 9,500 more than five years ago. Tech employment in the region expanded by 15% between 2018 and 2023, growing at a faster rate than total employment in the region, and is projected to surpass 76,000 in 2024.
Orlando’s tech workforce consists of two primary components - workers employed in technology occupations and those working for tech companies. The 74,000 figure captures ‘net tech employment’ – the sum of these two groups less any overlap (in Orlando’s case, 40% of workers in tech occupations also work for tech companies).
In 2023, the number of people working for tech companies in Orlando (46,896) marginally exceeded the number working in tech occupations (45,641). Software was the dominant activity, accounting for more than half (51.4%) of employees in Orlando’s tech industry and the largest share of workers in tech occupations (35.6%).
Orlando’s tech employment grew by 2.8% in 2023, the second highest rate among the 30 most populous regions in the country after Dallas. Orlando's growth was higher than tech favorite Austin (2.4%), Florida peers Miami (2.3%) and Tampa (1.5%), and more than twice the national rate of 1.2%.
Unrealized Opportunity
The latest data (2022) suggests the median salary for workers in tech occupations in Orlando 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 16% 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 recent growth has proven inequitable must be a priority for the region.
A Mandate for Action - But Also Progress
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 immediate opportunity is to grow and scale tech companies.
The foundation for progress in this area is already being laid. Plug and Play, the world’s premier startup accelerator and most-active venture capital investment firm, entered the Orlando market in 2024 with two locations – one at University of Central Florida (UCF) and one at NeoCity in Osceola County. This represents a major step forward in growing Orlando’s start-up ecosystem and to Orlando becoming America’s next great tech hub.
Orlando’s tech evolution in recent years is clear, highlighted by our status as one of the fastest-growing regions for tech employment in the country. However, we must also act intentionally to make sure the opportunities generated by growth in our tech ecosystem are accessible to all.