It’s no wonder that Portland topped Forbes’ list of best places for businesses and careers across the nation. Since 2010, Portland has grown by over 60,000 residents, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Between rising household incomes and a low state unemployment rate (just 3.5%), the city is one of a kind. Aptly named the “Silicon Forest”, Portland’s renowned for its prevalence of tech jobs and corporations and some of the city’s largest employers are tech companies – Intel and Nike, just to name a couple. Here’s what IT professionals need to know about America’s newest tech hub.
A BOOMING START-UP COMMUNITY
As popular tech regions like the Bay Area price out startups and young creatives, innovators and investors are opting to move to Portland instead, making it a tech hotspot. Some of the most enterprising start-ups in the country call Portland home. Cozy a property management solution for landlords juggling multiple tenants, has raised nearly $20 millionsince its inception in 2012. Simple, a user-friendly banking app that helps individuals meet their savings goals, was acquired for $117 million – and recently brought an Amazon executive on as CEO. Start-ups are flourishing in Portland’s unique tech landscape, allowing for opportunities that simply aren’t available in other regions of the country.
