Best cities for cybersecurity professionals

AdvisorSmith released a study ranking 181 cities in the United States based on their attractiveness for cybersecurity professionals.

The study ranked cities based on the following factors:

• The concentration of jobs on a per capita basis
• The cost of living in each city
• Average salaries for IT security analysts in each of the cities

The analysis concluded that Bloomington, IL, was the best city for IT security professionals, followed by Idaho Falls, ID, and Colorado Springs, CO. Many of the best cities for cybersecurity professionals were large cities with economies heavily weighted in health care, high tech, government, defense, or finance, coupled with lower-than-average costs of living.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 33% growth in employment for information security analysts over the next ten years.

What qualifies the best city for cybersecurity professionals?

• The #1 city for IT security analysts is Bloomington, Illinois, which offers an average salary of $108,260. The city has a 7x higher concentration of IT security jobs compared with the average American city.
• Cities that ranked highly all had large industry presences in health care, high tech, government, defense, or finance, allowing for a much higher-than-average abundance of IT security jobs.
• The top large cities for infosec analysts are Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; and Albuquerque, NM. The top midsize cities are Bloomington, IL; Huntsville, AL; and Trenton, NJ. The top small cities are Idaho Falls, ID; Ithaca, NY; and Rapid City, SD.