Tech901 is hoping to attract new employers to Memphis, which would greatly assist us with our goal to grow the tech job base by 4,000 jobs over the next ten years. In recent months, Memphis has received attention in the national press in multiple areas that we hope will entice companies to consider a move or at least having a presence here:
- Millennials are Buying it: Tech companies, as a general rule, have a strong concentration of younger employees, so anything that helps attract Millennials (i.e those born in the early 1980’s to early 2000’s) to Memphis would make the city more appealing to employers. In 2015, com ranked Memphis #3 in the U.S. for places that Millennials would most likely buy property in 2016. In addition, a survey by the Wall Street Journal found that Memphis was one of four cities in the U.S. that offered the right live/work/play environment for Millennials.
- Most Affordable Big City: Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs, and Memphis offers a number of attractive qualities in this area. In 2015, Kiplinger ranked Memphis as the most affordable big city in the United States, with a cost of living that’s 15% below the national average and median home prices below $100,000. Also, we have far fewer traffic problems than other big cities, evidenced by a 22-minute average commute to the office for Memphis workers.
- Diversity, a Core Asset: Tech companies, as a whole, have received some negative press in recent months about the lack of gender and ethnic diversity in their base of employees. A study by SmartAsset that was published in the Huffington Post ranked Memphis as having the most diverse STEM workforce in the United States, with higher concentrations of both black and female employees than most of the other top ten cities mentioned.
- Growing Tech Companies are Growing Jobs: A recent article by suggested that Memphis might be the “edgiest” startup hub in the U.S., highlighting the strong corporate base in Memphis and the collaborative spirit among the startup companies in the city, in addition to its affordability. In addition, Forbes ranked Memphis as the tenth-ranked city in the nation with respect to the number of tech jobs created, posting 35% growth between 2012 and 2015.
Collectively, the above factors position Memphis as a compelling option to employers, and Tech901 is making this a key element of its strategy and mission.