4 Best Cities To Start a Tech Career

In June 2021, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer broke ground on the new international headquarters for TechSmith, a high-tech software firm that chose East Lansing as its new home.

That’s nothing new for the area.

An hour’s drive west, Grand Rapids has spent the last decade evolving into what will be the most significant tech cluster in the Midwest by 2031. According to Bridge Michigan, leaders responsible for the city’s famed “Medical Mile” have adopted a philosophy that considers every business of every size and sector to be a tech company at its core.

They’ve spent years encouraging everything from restaurants to manufacturers to expand and improve through the adoption of new technology. Leaders estimate that 5% of the economy and 5% of the jobs are currently in tech — and they’re on pace to double those numbers to 10% each within a decade.