Austin remains in the top spot for the fourth year in a row, and seventh time in nine years, according to RCLCO Real Estate Consulting in its 2025 STEM Job Growth Index (STEMdex), which projects which metropolitan areas will have the strongest outlook for growth in jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
This year’s list includes three metropolitan areas from Florida, while California, Texas and North Carolina each have two cities in the top 20. No other state features more than one city in the 2025 rankings. The results remain largely consistent with 2024, with two notable changes: Phoenix and St. Louis, who were ranked 19th and 20th last year, fell out of the Top 20 and were replaced by Tampa and Jacksonville. In addition, Boston climbed four spots and Charlotte, N.C., climbed five. T
