The Bay Area of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland have long been known as being tech capital of the United States. Appropriately dubbed “Silicon Valley”, this area is home to several tech firms including Google, YouTube, Facebook and Uber (just to name a few). However, the last few years have seen a bit of a shift in where these types of tech giants are hiring and who they are hiring.
California’s Central Valley - The Next Silicon Valley?
California’s Central Valley is often equated to farm and ranching land as it is where a large majority of the state's product originates from. But the area has been evolving as of late and has now become a tech hub for many businesses. Cities east of the Bay Area like Modesto, Stockton, Turlock and Tracy are now attracting a lot of talent in the tech industry and gaining interest from major corporations from the Bay Area and beyond.
Commercial Real Estate in the Bay Area is Expensive
If you have ever worked as a commercial real estate agent in Northern California, you know San Francisco and Oakland are costly areas for businesses to operate. The cost of living alone is much higher compared to neighboring cities East, North and South of the bay. Because of this, a lot of companies are opening offices outside of the Bay Area. These tech companies are moving closer to the Central Valley or even up north to Sacramento. This is of course allowing these businesses to source skilled talent, save on office lease costs and improve other operations of their businesses.
What Are Some Other Causes for the Central Valley Boom?
While the cost of living in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland is an obvious factor, the talent coming out of the Central Valley is another major cause for the thriving tech boom in these areas. Graduates of IT programs and coding schools provide the same level of talent, more real-world experience in various projects and a much lower salary. This notion has become especially true since the onset of the pandemic as companies quickly discovered they could have employees working from anywhere. So, why pay for an employee on a San Francisco salary when you can pay much less for the same skill set?
For this reason, a lot of hiring managers in the Bay Area are now looking to students and graduates from the Central Valley to help drive their various tech programs, be it IT or web development.
Education Is Key
Being successful in any tech career requires the right skills and education. Another reason why this industry is booming in the Central Valley is due to non-profit organizations like Bay Valley Tech training students in the right skill sets including HTML, CSS, Javascript and other programming languages. Bay Valley Tech offers a free coding school where students can learn these skills and engage with industry leaders throughout the program. It’s a great process for students looking to grow their skills and obtain a new career, and it’s a great fit for tech organizations who need new talent.
Real Estate In the Central Valley - What to Look Ahead To
As the tech industry continues to grow in cities like Modesto and Stockton, there will be an influx of new homeowners migrating from the Bay Area. It’s important for agents and real estate professionals to anticipate this area growing with new residents working for large technology-focused companies. Agents will want to keep an eye on the Central Valley’s home inventory in the coming months and will soon be helping clients making this migration.
This shift is also important for commercial agents to note. As more businesses move to Modesto and surrounding cities, you'll see a shortage of commercial office spaces. Ideally, this will lead to more development and a boost to the Central Valley's economy.
