Madison has emerged as the top-ranked Midwestern metropolitan area for growth in the technology industry, according to a recent study by CommercialCafe, an online marketplace that tracks industry trends.
CommercialCafe analyzed the performances of the top 20 Midwestern metros for tech workers and businesses, examining nine metrics including tech job density, median earnings, and quality of life. With a total of 59.94 points, Madison beat out Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the top spot among Midwestern metro areas for tech development.
The study praised Midwestern cities for their work over the past decade to shed the region’s former image as the epicenter of urban and industrial decline, a label it is no longer stuck with because technology has played a key role in its revival.
The study said Madison’s tech ecosystem is particularly strong in areas such as health care technology, biotechnology, and software development. It cited strong local academic institutions, such as the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which continue to be vital for innovation and tech talent recruitment efforts.
Here are some of the metrics that made Greater Madison stand out in the Midwest:
- Madison came in first for tech employment density. Professionals looking for such jobs can expect to find plenty of opportunities, given the fact that 69 out of every 1,000 firms in Madison are part of the tech sector. In comparison, Milwaukee’s ratio was 37 tech businesses to 1,000 firms, while Appleton’s was 27 to 1,000 firms.
- Madison’s median tech earnings have seen 21% growth from 2019 to 2023, reaching $87,928 per year.
- With 599 tech patents approved in Madison between 2020 and 2024, the Madison metropolitan area saw contributions from 96 different companies during this period.
Room for improvement
While Madison continues to perform exceptionally well across annual Midwest tech rankings, the rising cost of living in the capital city remains a challenge, according to Diana Sabau, a writer for CommercialCafe. “Addressing the city’s limited housing supply shortages will also be key to Madison’s successful integration of a growing population, which is expected to hit the 1 million mark by 2050,” Sabau said.
Sabau also said that while tech salaries in Madison are generally good, the $87,928 median annual earnings that these professionals can expect here are firmly outside the Midwest’s top 10. “While it is, of course, outranked by the likes of Chicago and Minneapolis,” she said, “Madison is also lagging behind entries such as Omaha ($92,197) or Des Moines ($93,895) in this regard.”
