Northern California continues to be top market for tech and start-ups

Silicon Valley and San Francisco ranked first and second, respectively, as the nation’s top tech markets, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s TechCities 1.0 report. Rounding out the top five cities were Washington, D.C.; Boston/Cambridge; and Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C..

There were also some smaller, unexpected markets ranking high on the list, such as Madison, Wis.; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville, Tenn.

Report co-author and regional director, northwest U.S. research at Cushman & Wakefield in San Francisco, Robert Sammons said that while it was not surprising to see San Jose (Silicon Valley) and San Francisco continue to dominate, mass-transit issues and escalating housing costs in those areas have fanned a tech spillover into secondary markets such as Austin (No. 7), Denver (No. 8), San Diego (No. 9), and Salt Lake City (No. 24).

The top 25 tech cities were determined by analyzing the concentration of factors such as talent, capital and growth opportunity — the key ingredients that comprise a tech stew.

To read the complete report, click here.