North Texans are increasingly optimistic about the region growing as a tech hub, and believe this has spurred greater economic opportunity for the area over the past five years – expecting it will only get better, according to the results of a new Capital One Future Edge DFW survey released at the company’s Reimagine Communities Symposium.
The survey revealed a growing perception among DFW residents that North Texas is an attractive, emerging tech hot spot – with 65% believing that major tech companies will grow or increase their presence in DFW over the next decade, a 30% increase from a similar study. Capital One released in October 2016. In line with these findings, more than seven-in-ten (71%) DFW millennials, and the majority (53%) of residents overall, are anticipating they will pursue a technology-related career in the next two years, whether it be in the technology sector or a role that uses technology skills in another field. This is substantially higher than national trends (millennials: 64%; entire population 43%).
The purpose of the Capital One Future Edge DFW survey is to better understand residents’ views on the future of technological innovation in their community and the evolution of the area’s workforce, as well as how DFW area residents’ views compared with a national pool of respondents. The results shed light on how both DFW residents and Americans more broadly perceive the intersection of technology and the workforce now and in the decade to come.
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Highlights from Capital One’s Future Edge DFW survey follow.
Local tech and learning opportunities spike higher than the national average.
- A vast majority (77%) of DFW millennials, and more than two-thirds (67%) of residents overall, plan to begin or continue learning tech-related skills in the next year. This is four percentage points and 10 percentage points more, respectively, than Americans overall…
- …and they won’t have to look very far, as 83% of residents believe it’s easier to find learning-related resources in their area compared to other parts of the country, a 14% advantage over Americans overall (69%).
- Millennials are much more concerned with learning tech skills to get a job with higher earning potential (DFW: 61%, U.S.: 55%) than the population as a whole (DFW: 44%, U.S.: 44%).
- DFW residents (26%) are eight percentage points more likely than national respondents (18%) to actively begin or continue to learn programming/coding skills in the next year.
DFW residents are positive about the Metroplex’s potential to become a thriving technology and innovation hub.
- More than four out of five (85%) DFW residents believe their area is a great place for tech-related jobs and innovation, showing a six percentage point increase from 2016 (79%).
- The top factors DFW residents believe make their area great for tech-related jobs and innovation are the presence of leading technology companies (43%), networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities (40%) and the overall quality of life (40%).
- DFW residents (45%) are 15 percentage points more likely than Americans overall (30%) to report an increase in the availability of technology jobs in the last five years.
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Residents are feeling the effects of a stronger economy.
- 44% of residents report increased economic strength, such as a lower unemployment rate, over the last five years, compared to just over a third (37%) of Americans overall feeling the same.
- 92% of DFW residents expect continued economic development in the next 10 years, compared to 85% nationally, which they believe will likewise lead to across-the-board improvements in quality of life in the region.
“DFW is well-positioned to become one of the next major U.S. tech hubs, and it is clearly already well on its way,” said Sanjiv Yajnik, President, Financial Services, Capital One. “Residents are excited about how tech is transforming the region, which already enjoys great infrastructure to support learning and innovation. We’re thrilled to contribute to the region’s evolution through our Future Edge DFW initiative, where we are working hand-in-hand with a variety of community partners to support the area’s continued growth, innovation and economic vitality.”
These survey findings are part of the larger Future Edge DFW effort, focused on helping DFW get ready for tomorrow, today. The new opinion survey is a successor to Capital One’s 2016-17 collaboration with independent, not-for-profit research group, Institute for the Future (IFTF) to explore the trends shaping the future of DFW on three dimensions – technology innovations, financial innovations and expectations, and the workforce of tomorrow. A comprehensive study, DFW 2026: Igniting Economic and Cultural Prosperity in North Texas, combining both an initial, quantitative public survey and qualitative IFTF research, was published in early 2017.
Nationally, Capital One has made a $150 million commitment over five years to help prepare more Americans with the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in an ever-changing digitally-driven economy. For more information on what Capital One is doing across the country, join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. #InvestedInTech
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The Capital One Dallas Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research. For more information about the survey, visit www.wakefieldresearch.com.
