長期以來，美國的東西海岸都很能吸引到大批的科技人才，如果你確實喜歡在東西海岸生活也挺好。只有一個問題，而且是一個大問題：紐約、波士頓和硅谷等城市的生活成本變得太高，哪怕薪水遠高于平均水平，可能也享受不到高于平均水平的生活質量，尤其是在住房方面。

那么，如果還是想找科技行業的職位該怎么辦？要不要搬到中部地區的小城市？比如說哥倫布、達拉斯或者羅利，個人理財網站SmartAsset編制的第六份年度科技人才供不應求城市排行榜上，這幾個城市占據了前三名，當地科技業非常缺人，所以薪資飆升，生活成本還不高。

為了編制排行榜，SmartAsset梳理了美國人口普查局、勞工統計局和其他來源的172個城市的數據，然后研究人員根據5項標準對數據進行對比，具體標準包括當地IT從業人口的百分比、科技業者的平均工資、同城科技業者薪資與各行各業平均薪資的比例、擁有學士或以上學歷者的失業率，以及生活費用，包括花多少錢才能買到房。

根據以上指標，不難理解為什么俄亥俄州首府的哥倫布會連續三年獲得第一名。仔細看一下：哥倫布科技業者的平均收入為92,400美元，比周邊其他行業的平均薪資高出80%，生活成本卻略低于全美平均水平。SmartAsset報告指出，排名第二的達拉斯也很不錯，“科技行業規模相當大”（因此也就有更多的就業機會），總體生活成本也低于全美平均水平，IT業者的平均收入略高于哥倫布，為93,820美元。

以下是SmartAsset榜單上的前十名，以及當地IT行業的平均年薪：

1.俄亥俄州哥倫布——92,440美元

2.得克薩斯州達拉斯——93,820美元

3.北卡羅來納州羅利——91,680美元

4.愛荷華州錫達拉皮茲——83,260美元

5.愛荷華州達文波特——83,090美元

6.愛荷華州得梅因——83,820美元

7.得克薩斯州圣安東尼奧——84,790美元

8.阿拉巴馬州亨茨維爾（并列）——97,340美元

8.密蘇里州圣路易斯市（并列）——84,140美元

10.得克薩斯州坦普爾——78,770美元

中西部和南部地區（包括得克薩斯州的三個城市）在榜單上平分秋色，但很多IT行業求職者從沒有考慮過。此外，這些數字提供了鮮明的證據，說明選擇城市時不僅應該考慮薪資，也要考慮其他很多因素。

以坦普爾為例，在十大上榜城市中該市科技業者平均薪資最低，但仍然比當地其他行業的平均收入高出79%，生活成本也相對較低。“基本上來說，你在坦普爾可能賺不到那么多錢。”報告指出，“但你的收入能夠達到全市頂尖級別，錢也很經花。”

當心啦，加利福尼亞。（財富中文網）

譯者：艾倫

審校：夏林

The two coasts have long been magnets for tech talent, and that’s fine if you really like living there. Just one problem, and it’s a big one: Places like New York, Boston, and Silicon Valley have become so exorbitantly expensive that even a way-fatter-than-average paycheck is probably not enough to buy a sweeter-than-average quality of life, especially when it comes to housing.

So what’s a tech job hunter to do? How about moving to a smallish city in the heartland, like Columbus, Dallas, or Raleigh? Those towns take the top 3 spots on SmartAsset’s sixth annual list of locations where tech talent is in such short supply that salaries are soaring—yet the cost of living is not.

To arrive at this ranking, personal-finance site SmartAsset combed through data on 172 cities from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources. The researchers then compared the stats according to five criteria: Percentage of the local population employed in IT, average tech salaries, ratios of tech salaries to average salaries across all occupations in the same city, the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the cost of living, including what it will set you back to keep a roof over your head.

Given those metrics, it’s not hard to see why Columbus has won first place for three years running. Consider: The average tech employee in the capital of Ohio earns $92,440 — 80% more than the average pay across all other industries nearby. Yet the cost of living there is slightly below the national average. Second-ranked Dallas, which the report notes has “a fairly big tech scene” (hence even more job opportunities), isn’t bad, either. The overall cost of living is below the national average, too, and IT employees earn, on average, a little more than in Columbus: $93,820.

Here’s SmartAsset’s list of the Top Ten, with average IT salaries:

1. Columbus, OH — $92,440

2. Dallas, TX — $93,820

3. Raleigh, NC — $91,680

4. Cedar Rapids, IA — $83,260

5. Davenport, IA — $83,090

6. Des Moines, IA — $83,820

7. San Antonio, TX — $84,790

8. Huntsville, AL (tie) — $97,340

8. St. Louis, MO (tie) — $84,140

10. Temple, TX — $78,770

The list is evenly divided between two regions where many IT job seekers never think to look: The Midwest and the South (including three towns in Texas). Moreover, the numbers offer stark proof that, when you’re trying to decide where to hang your hat, it’s smart to take into account a lot more than just pay.

Temple, for instance, offers the lowest average compensation among the ten best cities, but that is still 79% higher than local residents make in other industries, and the relatively tiny cost of living there reflects that. “Essentially, you may not be making as much money in Temple,” the report says, “but you’ll be among the best-compensated workers in town, and your money will go far.”

Take that, California.