About 70 years ago, only 30 percent of the world population lived in cities. When technology began to evolve, the number went up to 54 percent by 2014. According to estimates, two-thirds of the human population will be living in cities by 2050. Just because more people now live in the cities does not mean that all of these people share the same quality of life, especially when it comes to technology.
2ThinkKnow is a research firm that specializes in analyzing city innovation. Business Insider contacted the firm for acquiring the data to rank the 10 most high-tech cities in the world. The 10 factors chosen to score the cities were all related to technological advancements like the number of patents filed per capita, startups, tech venture capitalists, innovation dataset rankings, and smartphone usage.
85 of the world cities were scored and ranked and here are the top 10.
10. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago may not be the first city to pop in your head when you think about the technology but the city is proving itself to be a startup magnet. It is a huge part of the cake that Illinois took by standing among the top five cities that have high-tech jobs in the US.
9. Toronto, Canada
Home to places like Cisco Innovation Center, the city is rife with innovative startups and infrastructure. About 30% of the IT firms in Canada are based in the Toronto. The firms in the city account for $52-billion of annual revenue.
8. Singapore
Singapore, one of the most advanced cities in the world, produces a massive number of programmers and venture capitalists. The city has even partnered with MIT for a smarter transportation that reduces the dependence on private cars. The infrastructure of Singapore is continuously upgrading due to those new high-tech skyscrapers being added to the skyline.
7. Boston, Massachusetts
MIT and Harvard, two of the most popular and best technology institutes of the world, make this city a technology icon. With hundreds of innovations in biotech and robotics sprouting from these institutes, the city is the perfect home for tech startups.
6. Seoul, South Korea
Dubbed as “the city of the future,” Seoul forms the roots of its design at the hands of technology. Technology developed in this city like LTE has become an essential part of our lives. Seoul files more patents than any other city in the world, and many technology startups are budding in this city’s arms.
5. Taipei, Taiwan
It may not be the most popular of all the technology hubs, but Taipei is a leader in industrial design. Some of the largest PC companies in the world like MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, and Acer are based in Taipei. A factor that added to its score was a huge number of venture capitalists in the city.
4. Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation says that LA offers more high-tech sector jobs as compared to any other region in the US. The city generates an annual revenue of about $58 billion. So Hollywood is not the biggest thing about Los Angeles after all.
3. London, England
London introduced the Crossrail project last year that will add 10 new train lines to connect the existing 30 stations with new tunnels. Crossrail, the largest construction project in Europe, will cost $20 billion, but it will turn the city into a dreamland. According to 2thinknow, the city has more startups and programmers than any other city in the world. The IT jobs in London may even be more than those in all of the California combined.
2. New York, US
Despite being one of the oldest cities in the US, New York is unbelievably progressive. Continuously improving its infrastructure, the city has now become a tech heavyweight. It houses about 7,000 high-tech companies that employ more than 100,000 people. The city also launched the LinkNYC, a free WiFi service with more than 500 kiosks for the public around Manhattan.
1. San Francisco, California
The fact that San Francisco is at the top of the technology world is not a surprise to anyone. It is home to the “Silicon Valley” of the world. The city’s population of designers, programmers, and engineers is not comparable any other. The rich startup culture and the venture capital scene is like the tech beehive.
The city wins in almost every category of tech. No matter where any other tech city gets in the future, it won’t be able to snatch this title of best high-tech city in the world from San Francisco.
Business Insider features the rating for the entire top 25, and you can view them here.