SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has long been making a name for itself in the technology industry, with Silicon Slopes boasting companies like Adobe, Microsoft, Domo and Oracle.
Now, it can add another distinction to its list: ranking in the top 10 best states for working in tech.
Utah is No. 9, according to new research from document management company SmallPDF.
It analyzed data such as salaries, employment rates and vacancies to create its list, according to a news release.
Utah gets its ranking due to a high concentration of existing tech jobs in the state, with 39.09 jobs per 1,000 being tech positions, according to SmallPDF's analysis. Additionally, there are 62.38 tech job vacancies available for every 100,000 people.
The company also found that the average yearly salary in Utah tech jobs is $86,600, with 27.1% of that salary going toward rent. To find this percentage, SmallPDF weighed the average annual salary against the state's average annual rent, the news release states.
Utah's tech prowess was on display at last year's Silicon Slopes Summit. Cicero CEO Trent Kaufman presented data collected in partnership with BYU that showed that "what we have in Utah is an all-out talent war going on"; while Apple CEO Tim Cook told Sen. Mike Lee during a fireside chat that in Utah's tech companies, he sees people who want to change the world.
Just below Utah in the rankings is Nebraska, with an average tech job salary of $81,090, 17.55% of which goes toward rent; 32.63 tech jobs per 1,000 jobs; and 52.4 tech job vacancies per 100,000 people.
In the top spots are Virginia at No. 1, Maryland at No. 2, and Washington at No. 3.
Virginia's average yearly tech salary is $110,510, according to SmallPDF's research, with 21.68% going toward rent. The state has 58.44 tech jobs for every 1,000 jobs, and 128.97 tech job vacancies per 100,000 people.
Maryland's is $110,790, with 19.97% going toward rent; and Washington's is $124,000, with 21.24% going toward rent. Maryland has 54.35 tech jobs for every 1,000 jobs and 116.27 tech job vacancies per 100,000 people. Washington has 59.32 tech jobs per 1,000 people and 61.69 tech job vacancies per 100,000 people.
The other top 10 states, from fourth through eighth, are Colorado, Massachusetts, Delaware, Minnesota and New Jersey.
SmallPDF also found that Mississippi is the worst state to work in tech, the news release states, with an average annual salary of $70,870; 11.857 tech jobs per 1,000 jobs; and 16.03 tech job vacancies per 100,000 people.
