When it comes to being a rising star in the field of technology, Columbus, Ohio is shining like the sun.
In June 2016, Columbus beat out six other cities to win the Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. This means $50 million in grants are now available to help create an integrated tech hub connecting people, products and transportation to improve the city. Expected improvements will include transportation safety initiatives, data analytics upgrades and infrastructure improvements that link better technology with the end user.
The state backed up this initiative by investing $13 million in additional equipment that improved the speed of the 10 Gbps broadband network connecting Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. No other state in the nation has a network as far-reaching at such high speeds.
Locally, suburbs like Upper Arlington, Dublin and Gahanna have all expanded their fiber optic networks, benefiting businesses and homeowners with faster and more reliable data, and city wide Wi-Fi. In fact, you can pick up free Wi-Fi anywhere in Gahanna and Dublin was named number seven in the world for broadband service.
Job Growth – Real Opportunities
With a population of 2.1 million, Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest. According to Forbes, the three major industries in our city, in order of growth, are technology, insurance and education. Sperlings Best Places predicts the overall job growth over the next ten years will be just slightly less than 40%.
A list of the top 25 tech employers in the area include:
- JP Morgan Chase
- Nationwide
- Honda of America Mfg.
- Alliance Data Retail Services
- Time Warner Cable
- Verizon Communications, Inc.
- Discover Financial Services
As you can probably tell, the need for IT savvy workers stretches across industries from manufacturing to insurance.
While these are some of the most established companies, Columbus-based tech start-ups like CrossChx, Clarivoy, and Improving, are starting to make their mark on the region and the nation.
But don’t take our word for it, check out a snippet of Columbus tech news over the past few months:
- Amazon is investing $1 billion in three regional data centers.
- Covermymeds, a healthcare tech company that integrates electronic medical records with eprescribing, just added 100 new jobs.
- Expedient, a cloud IT firm, just expanded a second data center in town.
- Klarna, a European payment company, invested $100 million to expand in the area.
Moving and Living in C’town
If you work in the technology sector and are looking for a good home, Columbus should make your top list of cities to move to. Our population is younger and better educated than the national average and Columbus is ranked number two in the nation for metropolitan job growth. Did you know we were ranked as the #1 smartest city in the world in 2015?
If you’re techie looking to buy or sell a home in Columbus, Ohio, finding a real estate agent that uses smart marketing, is neighborhood-savvy, and has top notch organizational and sales skills will be crucial to your success. The Grover Group is offering a free consultation to get to know us better as you begin your search for the perfect new place to sit your laptop. Contact us today!
