NEW YORK CITY—Between 2014 and 2016, the US added nearly half a million jobs in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector. However, less than one third of those jobs were located in the usual suspects, such as Silicon Valley, Austin and Seattle. Instead, 345,000 of the 490,000 STEM positions created during that period could be found primarily in what MetLife Investment Management calls NextTech markets, including Washington, DC; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; and San Diego.

“The NextTech markets are poised to outperform in this cycle and the next,” says Adam Ruggiero, associate director, MetLife Investment Management. “The shift towards specializations in these markets also offers investors the opportunity to place strong bets on the technologies of the future and the real estate demand their success will generate. They offer lower concentration risk, strong starting yields, solid income growth and rich future valuations.”

A new report from MetLife Investment Management's real estate division, “Tech Markets 2.0,” makes it clear that the core tech hubs continue to set the pace in terms of STEM growth and the sector's role in local economies. However, the report notes a broadening of employment beyond the Big Six of Austin, Boston, Raleigh, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle, especially as well-compensated and in-demand tech industry workers seek out opportunities across the nation.