SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH

2022 EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H :
TABLE OF CONTENTS

01
About this Report 3

02
Principal Findings 6

03
Overview of San Antonio’s IT Industry 9

04
The Economic Impact of San Antonio’s 14
IT Industry

05
The Economic Impact of Information 15
Technology Companies

06
The Greater San Antonio IT Workforce 18

07
Salaries and Employment in the 19
Information Technology Industry

08
The Location of IT in San Antonio 21

09
Regional Leaders Agree 25

10
Conclusion 26

11
Methodology and Data Used 27

12
List of Figures 28

13
Sponsors 29
 ABOUT THIS REPORT

Information Technology (IT) is a high-priority economic

development target industry for the City of San Antonio,
Bexar County, and numerous area business groups.

These efforts are well placed, given world-wide tech industry growth and employment salaries.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

However, the local IT industry, which has expanded significantly over the last decade, has not regularly
measured the size and characteristics of its own San Antonio IT economy. This data is fundamental to
assessing progress and opportunities, identifying gaps, and crafting growth strategy. This new annual
report from Tech Bloc and Port San Antonio aims to shed more light on the state of the greater San
Antonio IT industry, with hopes to expand its measurement scope in the future. Information contained
in this report is based on the most recent workforce and economic data available through the end of
2021 from the Texas Workforce Commission and other sources.

ABOUT THIS REPORT 3

 Tech Bloc Board of Directors & Staff

Dirk Elmendorf Dax Moreno Patti Larsen

Chair Principal » Verity SA External & Legislative Affairs
Co-Founder » Rackspace » AT&T
Tom Cuthbert
Lew Moorman Vistage Master Chair and Mary Ullmann Japhet
Chair Emeritus CEO Coach » Vistage Worldwide Owner/Founder » Japhet Media
Co-Founder » Scaleworks
Will Garrett Iris Gonzalez
David Heard Vice President Talent & Technology Publisher » Startups San Antonio
CEO Development & Integration
CMO » SecureLogix » Port SA Dave Sims
Creative Director » Dave Sims
Bret Piatt Tim James Media
CEO » JungleDisk VP Global Talent Acquisition
» Rackspace Romanita Mata-Barrera
Charles Woodin Chief Workforce Officer, SA WORX
CEO » Geekdom Marina Gavito Aldrete » Greater: SATX
Executive Director » SA Digital
Erin Wilbanks Connects
Strategic Recruitment Director ADVISORY
» H-E-B Dr. Taylor Eighmy
President » UTSA
Lorenzo Gomez
Jason Straughan
Co-founder » WeTree
CEO » CodeUp Albert Carrisalzez
Assistant VP for Government David Spencer
Matt Reedy Relations and Policy » UTSA
CEO » Prytime Medical
CTO » Addiction Resource
Systems, Inc

Trinity University

Dr. Butler is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, and former Interim Dean of the School of
Business at Trinity University, where he now serves as Alumni Engagement Coordinator.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

He has been at Trinity since 1982.

He earned his B.A. degree in Mathematics from Pomona College, and the S.M. and Ph.D.
degrees in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Butler has served as a policy advisor to several Mayors of San Antonio. He was also
the founding CEO of the Alamo Academies, San Antonio’s award-winning workforce
Richard V. Butler, Ph.D. development program.

Dr. Stefl is now Professor Emeritus of Health Care Administration at Trinity University. She
was a long-term former Department Chair, and former Dean of the Division of Behavioral
and Administrative Studies. She has been with Trinity since 1984. She now spends some
time with Trinity’s development office engaging alumni of the health care program.

She has assumed leadership roles in national professional community, having chaired
organizations concerned with health administration education and program accreditation.
She is also active in with a number of local non-profit and professional organizations, and
now serves on the boards of Project Quest and the Humane Society.
Mary E. Stefl Ph.D.

ABOUT THIS REPORT 4

 Port of San Antonio Board of Directors & Staff

BOARD Staff

Chris Alderete Jim Perschbach Juan Antonio Flores

Chair President & CEO Executive Vice President of
Governmental Relations
Alex Nava Curtis Casey
Vice-Chair VP Strategic Design Development Ramon Flores
& Portfolio Management SVP Strategic Design Development
Margaret Wilson-Anaglia Construction & Delivery
Secretary Adrienne Cox, RPA
Chief Operating Officer Will Garrett
Bill Mock Vice President Talent & Technology
Treasurer Rick Crider, A.A.E. Development & Integration
Executive Vice President,
Minnie Abrego-Sanchez Strategic Initiatives/Airport Marcel Johnson
Senior Vice President, Talent
Alberto “Beto” Altamirano Pat Cruzen, CPA & Technology Scouting &
Senior Vice President, Identification
Bradley Carson
Chief Financial Officer

Victoria M. Garcia Abigail Ottmers

Caroline Diaz Chief Legal Officer
Vice President Shared Services,
Marilu Reyna
Assistant Secretary to the Board
Juan Solis III of Directors

Dan F. Weingart Paco Felici

Chief of Staff, Chief
Communications Officer

Special Thanks to Our Title Sponsor and Key Benefactors

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

ABOUT THIS REPORT 5

 PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Economic Impact of San Antonio’s IT Industry

The San Antonio Information Technology industry has an

annual economic impact of nearly $11 billion.

The IT industry’s economic impact has grown by 27% since

2010. It has more than tripled in size since 2000.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

The number of companies in San Antonio’s IT industry

has grown from 1,095 in 2015 to 1,491 in 2020, a 36% increase.

San Antonio’s IT industry is growing rapidly in the internet

and computer services sectors and this growth shows no
signs of abating.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS 6
 The IT Industry Workforce

In 2020 the IT industry paid $1.8 billion in wages and salaries

to its 20,718 employees. This number represents all the
employees of IT companies – both IT professionals and other
staff.

The average annual wage paid to these employees was

$88,017, the highest average salary of all target industries in
San Antonio.

By comparison, the average wage across the San Antonio

economy in 2020 was $54,940. Though IT workers make up
only about 2% of the total workforce in San Antonio, high
average salaries in the IT sector represent a significant
opportunity to raise per capita income levels if the city can
continue to grow its IT industry.

IT Professionals in San Antonio

There are more than 48,000 total IT professionals working

across all private and public sectors of the Greater San
Antonio IT Economy.

IT professionals work for both pure IT industry companies

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

and non-IT companies. The private sector in San Antonio,

including its IT companies, employs 31,600 IT professionals.

An additional 16,471 IT professionals are employed by the

defense, security and other Federal entities resident in
San Antonio.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS 7
 Geographic Nodes of IT Employment in
San Antonio

Clusters of IT activity in San Antonio began to coalesce about

10 years ago. Since developing, these nodes have continued
to strengthen and add employment.

As evidence of an emerging urban startup scene, the

downtown/midtown area appeared to contain the largest
concentration of IT companies, though they were significantly
smaller in average employment. But since March of 2020,
startups appear to be more distributed across Bexar County
due to Covid, the rise of remote work, and cost management.

The five largest hubs of IT employment are located in:

( 1 ) Port San Antonio ( 4 ) Windcrest /

Rackspace
( 2 ) The US 281 North
Corridor ( 5 ) USAA/Medical
Center area
( 3 ) Westover Hills /
Loop 410 & Hwy151

In terms of growth rate, some of the fastest growing hubs of

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

IT employment over the past 5 years are:

( 1 ) Downtown / ( 4 ) Joint
Base San
Broadway-Midtown Antonio / Fort Sam
Houston
( 2 ) Port San Antonio
( 5 ) US
281 North
( 3 ) Westover Hills /
Corridor
Loop 410 & Hwy151

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS 8
 Graham Weston interviews Netflix founder and CEO, Reed Hastings at the Tech Bloc 2019 Rally.

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY

Before delving into the data on our IT industry economic impact

and workforce numbers, Tech Bloc has identified the top tech
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

economy sectors in which San Antonio is especially strong:

Cybersecurity

Cloud Computing

Digital Retail and Commerce

Financial Technology, Services, and Compliance

Software as a Service (SaaS)

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 9

 Cybersecurity

San Antonio is well represented nationally when it comes into an innovation hub housing companies specializing
to Federal/DoD cyber mission support, cyber research and in cybersecurity, aerospace, applied technologies, and
development assets, and commercial product and services defense. The significant defense-sector cyber assets at
firms. Texas ranks second after Virigina as the state with the the Port have attracted an array of marquee names to the
most cybersecurity growth potential, according to Business campus, including Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton,
Facilities’ 16th Annual Rankings Report. CACI, Northrop Grumman, CNF Technologies, IOMAXIS, and
IPSecure. These companies support Department of Defense
The U.S. Air Force’s Security Service operations, established
cyber operations and private-sector clients.
in San Antonio in 1948, have evolved into one of the nation’s
leading cybersecurity hubs, with the highest concentration Port San Antonio will launch a comprehensive innovation
of industry professionals outside of the Washington D.C. center in 2022 that will house a science and technology
region. This activity is centered at Port San Antonio — a museum, a technology arena, a collaborative maker and
1,900-acre technology campus just southwest of downtown. technology transfer space, and an industry showroom.
The Port is also home to the national headquarters for These state-of-the-art facilities will help innovators
the Air Force’s Cyber Command, with the 16th Air Force’s develop, demonstrate, and market technologies leveraging
Cyber Command and associated supporting cyber activities cybersecurity, advanced aviation, energy, biomedical, and
operating at the Port and its neighbor, Joint Base San other applications.
Antonio-Lackland.

The Port is developing the former Kelly Air Force Base site,
Bexar County’s largest commercial-industrial property,
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Texas ranks second after Virigina as the

state with the most cybersecurity growth
potential, according to Business Facilities’ Trained cybersecurity professionals are in great

16th Annual Rankings Report.

demand in every industry and government sector.
Photo credit: Northup Grumman

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 10

 Rackspace Office. Photo by courtesy of Rackspace.

Cloud Computing

Over the past decade, cloud computing has evolved to become a technological requirement for modern
enterprises. San Antonio’s strength in cloud computing can be directly traced to and remains anchored
in the rise of Rackspace Technology.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Founded in San Antonio in 1998, focusing on managed hosting

services and building physical web servers for businesses,
Rackspace has evolved into a leading global technology services
company specializing in managed applications, data, security,
and public, private and hybrid cloud technologies.

This homegrown enterprise is a linchpin in San Antonio’s tech economy. IT startups like Jungle Disk,
TrueAbility, and Mailgun, have spun out from Rackspace. Rackspace is also a leader in innovation
beyond the Alamo City. Rackspace and NASA teamed up in 2010 to launch OpenStack, an open-source
cloud initiative that standardizes the way virtual elastic clouds run, with OpenStack eventually
becoming an independent nonprofit organization.

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 11

 Digital Retail and Commerce

San Antonio’s growing innovation and strength in digital retail, manufacturing automation, supply chain
management, and personalization parallels H-E-B’s emergence as a pioneering digital retailer, melding
new technologies with a formidable brick-and-mortar grocery empire.

H-E-B is the largest privately-held employer in Texas and the 12th

largest privately held U.S. company. In 2020, H-E-B was named
the top grocery retailer in the U.S., according to data science firm
dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index.

H-E-B was already developing

capacities to support its digital
storefront when the pandemic
started in 2020. With robots in H-E-B
warehouses and newly developed
IT platforms, H-E-B pivoted quickly
to provide customers deliveries and
curbside pickups of online orders.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

The retailer has opened an

81,000-square-foot tech innovation
H-E-B Digital / Favor Office in Austin, TX. Photo by courtesy of H-E-B.
center in East Austin for its H-E-B
Digital team and serves as new
headquarters for Favor, the on-
demand delivery company acquired
in February 2018. The San Antonio-
based retailer also has plans to build
a 150,000-square-foot, state-of-the-
art tech center at its San Antonio
headquarters. Slated to open in 2022,
H-E-B plans to add about 1000 new
jobs and move hundreds of existing
employees to the San Antonio tech
center upon completion.

H-E-B Tech Center Rendering slated to open in San Antonio,

TX in 2022. Photo by courtesy of H-E-B.

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 12

 Financial Technology, Services,
and Compliance

Traditional financial technology or fintech companies are USAA also works with large technology firms, venture
innovating and revolutionizing the services offered by capitalists, startups, and experts in academia to help solve
financial institutions while building sophisticated security problems for its members. As USAA connects with financial
and compliance measures to satisfy an ever-growing list technology firms, the company is looking at new capabilities
of industry regulations. A long-time leader in this evolving such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and augmented
sector is USAA. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA is a reality to help streamline internal operations and enhance
Fortune 500 company providing banking, auto, home and the experience of its’ members.
life insurance, and retirement products tailored for the
military community. Since its founding in 1922, USAA has
embraced IT innovation.

From an aerial imaging tool developed after Hurricane

Harvey to voice-guided check depositing on its mobile
app for visually impaired customers, USAA’s innovation
continues to be driven by its dedication to its members. Its
patented check deposit by cellphone feature has become
the standard for remote banking services, which are in
high demand given the pandemic. Other advances from
USAA include biometric authentication and the testing
of blockchain technology to improve the speed of the
USAA San Antonio Campus. Photo courtesy of USAA
subrogation process during auto claims.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Software as a Service (SaaS) got its kickstart in San Antonio thanks to Scaleworks, a venture equity firm focused on
business-to-business (B2B) SaaS companies. Founded in 2016 by Lew Moorman, the former president of Rackspace,
and serial entrepreneur Ed Byrne, Scaleworks has helped establish a strong beachhead of SaaS companies and talent
downtown in the Savoy Building on Houston Street.

Scaleworks buys companies, moves them to San Antonio, and invests to hire and
grow them here. Scaleworks has raised over $150 million and brought more than 10
companies to San Antonio. In addition, Scalework’s launching of Element Finance,
a $10 million debt fund that provides valuable working capital to SaaS companies
across the country, has helped grow SaaS companies here and elsewhere.

Additional initiatives in the same high-growth space include B2B SaaS holding
company Dura Software and seed investor Active Capital.

The co-working community Geekdom in the Rand Building on Houston Street also
has SaaS founders building their companies. With the concentrated investment
and success from Scaleworks, and the additional projects emerging in the
Scaleworks office.
ecosystem, SaaS could evolve into a significant cluster in San Antonio’s tech
Photo courtesy of Scaleworks
ecosystem over time.

OVERVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 13

 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SAN ANTONIO’S
IT INDUSTRY

The San Antonio IT economy consists of three major

sub-sectors:

Information Technology Information technology companies include both large, established international
enterprises and small, innovative startups. They produce both IT products (e.g.,
Companies
computer equipment) and IT services (e.g., website hosting). San Antonio’s IT
private sector industry is largely concentrated in software, web development and
internet services. They employ a significant number of IT professionals, as well as
many other employees necessary to run their businesses.

Corporate IT IT workers at non-tech companies also make up an important part of every

city’s IT economy. San Antonio, home to five Fortune 1000 companies and scores
of other organizations of all sizes, has a rich corporate IT sector that employs
thousands of IT professionals.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Federal/Department of The third sub-sector consists of federal government agencies (including

numerous military commands and national security organizations). This sub-
Defense (DOD) Cyber Missions
sector is especially important in San Antonio, home to the second-largest
concentration of information security professionals in the country and numerous
other Federal missions.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SAN ANTONIO’S IT INDUSTRY 14

 THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

Technology Companies

Information technology is now a $10.8 billion industry

in San Antonio – more than triple its size two decades ago.

Figure 1. Economic Impact of IT on San Antonio’s Economy, 2000-2020

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Economic Impact

Billions

$12.0 10.8
10.1
$10.0 8.8 8.8 9.1 9.1
8.5

$8.0

$6.0

$4.0 3.4

$2.0

$0.0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES 15

 IT Services and IT Products

The economic impact of the San Antonio IT industry was The Services sector includes providers of custom computer
relatively stable over most of the past five decades, with programming and internet services, web hosting companies,
a noticeable uptick in 2019 and 2020. This overall pattern IT training, and equipment repair services.
conceals the dynamic changes that have been taking place
The IT industry has changed considerably over the past
within the industry.
two decades. At the beginning of that period, 30% of the
To understand this, it’s helpful to look more closely at jobs were in the Products sector, but 50% of the industry’s
the individual sectors that make up the San Antonio IT economic impact was in Products. A similar pattern
economy: prevailed in 2020: 25% of the jobs but 55% of the economic
impact were in the Products sector.
Companies that supply IT services such as web hosting
For the industry as a whole, employment and economic
and custom computer programming, and
impact remained relatively stable over most of the past

Companies that produce and sell information decade, though with notable increases in 2019 and 2020.

technology products for customers, businesses, and the U.S.

government.

The Products sector includes manufacturers of:

Computer and electronic equipment and components,

wholesale trade (including business-to-business electronic
markets), retail trade, and internet and software publishing.

Figure 2. Economic Impact of IT Products and Services, 2000-2020

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Economic Impact of Industry Sectors

Billions

$7.0
6.0
$6.0 5.5
4.9 4.8 4.8 4.9
$5.0 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6
4.3 4.3
4.0
$4.0 3.6

$3.0

$2.0 1.7 1.7

$1.0

$0.0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Products Services

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES 16

 Growth in computer systems design and
programming services sub-sectors

In recent times San Antonio has become a mecca for large data centers, with
both local companies (like Rackspace Technology and Frost Bank) and major
international firms (including Microsoft, Lowe’s, J P Morgan Chase and others)
establishing a presence in northwest San Antonio. Much of this appears to
be driven by the sale of land for corporate data center construction in the
previously biotech focused Texas Research Park by the managing Texas Research
& Technology Foundation.

Within the Computer Services industry sector, there has been growth in the
computer systems design and programming services sub-sector. Workers in the
computer systems design industry write the software that runs computers, design
the integration of software and hardware, and operate data processing facilities.

The economic impact from computer services is nearly twice what it was two
decades ago, and employment in these services is now 41% of the entire
industry’s employment in San Antonio (up from 34% of the industry total in 2010).

Figure 3. Economic Impact of Computer Services in San Antonio, 2000-2020

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

COMPUTER SERVICES
Billions Economic Impact

$3.5
3.11
2.82
$3.0
2.64
2.45 2.52
$2.5 2.34

$2.0 1.77
1.69

$1.5

$1.0

$0.5

$0.0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES 17

 SALARIES & EMPLOYMENT IN THE IT INDUSTRY

IT professionals work in IT companies, non-tech companies Tech Bloc and Port San Antonio conducted its own survey
and various federal entities. Since tech companies also have of Federal agencies in San Antonio, including military
non-IT employees, it is important to avoid double-counting. commands, national security organizations and other
Federal enterprises. (A complete list of the agencies
According to Texas Workforce Commission data collected
contacted can be found in the appendix at the end of
for employers, a total of 20,718 individuals worked for
this report.) This sampling, which is extensive but not
IT companies in San Antonio in 2020. This includes
exhaustive, found 16,471 cybersecurity professionals doing
all the employees of those companies, not just the IT
IT work for the Federal government. These 16,471 Federal
professionals.
employees are not included in the TWC occupational data

However, the majority of the IT professionals in San Antonio for the private sector, so it is appropriate to combine those

work for companies and agencies whose primary focus is two estimates.

outside IT. Texas Workforce Commission data organized

by occupational category places the number of individuals
employed in IT jobs across the private sector in greater
San Antonio in 2020 at 31,600. Since this includes IT
professionals who work at IT companies, adding these two
figures would involve a sizable degree of double counting.

Figure 4. Total IT Professionals, 2008-2020

Our best estimate, then, is that

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

more than 48,000 IT professionals

YEAR PRIVATE SECTOR FEDERAL IT EMPLOYEES
work in the Federal and private
sectors in San Antonio. This is a
2008 20,590 NA
substantial (40%) increase over the
34,377 IT professionals identified in
2014 24,690 9,687
the 2014 IT Economic impact Study.

2016 27,240 NA
It’s also important to note that the
number of civilian IT professionals
2018 27,330 16,471
increased by more than 50% over
the past dozen years.
2020 31,600 NA

SALARIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY 18

 SALARIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

While the industry’s economic impact has more than tripled since
2000, employment has grown more slowly. This is due in part to
the relative shift of IT activity in San Antonio from the production
of products to the provision of services.

Figure 5. Number of employees by sector, 2000-2020

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BY SECTOR

18,000
15,524 15,589
16,000 14,737 14,996 14,968
14,342
14,000

12,000 10,649

10,000
8,012
8,000

6,000 5,099 5,129

4,190 3,941
3,463 3,482 3,763 3,592
4,000

2,000

0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Products Services

SALARIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY 19

 In addition, many of the internet-services functions like web hosting produce large revenues with very
small workforces. These jobs pay well, and their economic impact is large, so the region has gained greatly
from this evolution even as employment has grown relatively slowly.

Figure 6. IT Annual Payroll, 2000-2020

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Millions Annual Payroll Total payroll has risen
2200.0 $1,824
substantially, with the
$1,588 $1,571 $1,713
1700.0
$1,519 $1,501 2020 total of $1.824
1200.0 $992 billion weighing in at 3.6
700.0 $500 times the 2000 figure of
200.0 $500 million.
-300.0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

These are well-paying jobs. Average wages, reflecting the trend toward more-specialized, high-value
employment, are double what they were in 2000. The average annual wage in the IT industry in 2020 was
$88,017. In the high-growth areas of computer and internet services, the average is $87,919. By comparison,
the average wage across the San Antonio economy in 2020 was $54,940.

Figure 7. Average IT Wages Vs. San Antonio Average, 2000-2020

SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

AVERAGE WAGES
Billions Information Technology vs. San Antonio Average

$90,000

$80,000

$70,000

$60,000

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0
2000 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

SA $29,704 $40,690 $46,304 $46,906 $47,195 $49,760 $51,592 $54,940

IT $43,539 $70,775 $83,391 $82,914 $85,428 $83,071 $83,083 $88,017

SALARIES AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY 20

 THE LOCATION OF IT IN SAN ANTONIO

In some cities, tech startup activity and employment tends to cluster in

geographical hotspots. In San Antonio, there have been several public sector
and private developer investments to cluster employment in tech hubs across
the city. This year’s report provides a first look at where IT employment is
concentrated in San Antonio, and the results of some of the city’s efforts to build
employment density and hubs.

So where are the concentrations of IT employment located across the city? To

answer that question, we disaggregated data from 2007 through 2019 from the
Texas Workforce Commission down to the zip code level as provided by Emsi, a
national labor market analytics firm. The results are displayed in the map below.

Figure 8. San Antonio IT workforce locations by zip code, 2019

0-100 101-200 201-500 501-1000 1000+

Bulverde

Boerne
10 New Braunfels
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

35
Looking at the map, a few hubs of IT
employment stand out:

The 281 North corridor, stretching

10
north from Alamo Heights

The Northeast corridor, along I-35

from downtown to Selma

87
The Northwest corridor, along I-10
outside of Loop 410

Westover Hills
181
35
Port San Antonio, and

Downtown/Mid-Town

281
37 97

THE LOCATION OF IT IN SAN ANTONIO 21

 Frost Tower. Photo by courtesy of Weston Urban.

Gaining a deeper understanding of this clustering requires was redeveloped into the Port Authority of San Antonio.
an examination of the relative size and growth rates of Today, Port San Antonio is the single largest commercial
these and other hubs. This can be done by combining industrial property in Bexar County and is home to the
employment data for the member zip codes of the various largest concentration of IT employees, thanks to its many
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

hubs. private and Federal employers.

Interestingly, some of the lead employment clusters (281 But, while downtown has recently received focused
North, for example) have grown despite proactive, city- investment in startup growth and clustering efforts, it ranks
wide attempts to market and grow other areas into distinct below the other hubs in the number of tech workers. As a
tech hubs. Many of these large-employer-driven zones result, downtown IT businesses include a larger proportion
are more car-centric and suburban in character, and their of small (1-10 employee) startups, while the outlying hubs
growth seems to be driven by affordability, accessibility and house larger, more mature IT employers. It’s also worth
convenience. noting that these tech employment clusters have remained
fairly constant over the past dozen years (2007 to 2019),
In contrast, more urban districts (downtown/midtown for
largely due to their anchor employment tenants.
example) and federal/DoD installation zones have received
more concentrated investment and marketing efforts to
cluster tech employment. Employment data show that some
of these efforts are having an impact. For example, after the
Base Realignment and Closure in 2001, Kelly Air Force Base

THE LOCATION OF IT IN SAN ANTONIO 22

 One final factor to consider is the pandemic impact on where people are working since spring 2020.
Both large and small employers have a larger percentage of their employees working remotely, going
into the office part-time, infrequently, or not at all.

Many Federal and defense activities and consumer-facing businesses leveraging IT expertise require
workers to work at the company location. Yet, it appears the pandemic has driven employees working
at startups, smaller businesses and some established enterprises like USAA to largely work at home
or other remote work locations. Therefore it is important to note that the map reveals the physical
office addresses of workers employed at companies as reported by TWC without data tracking for
remote work.

Figure 9. Employees by Zip Code per TWC, 2007-2019

NODES ZIP CODES 2007 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 10-YGR 5-YGR AGR

Downtown/Midtown 05, 15 878 1225 1288 1394 1452 1533 1620 84.50% 32.23% 5.7%

USAA/Medical Center 30, 29, 40 1714 2206 2259 2403 2372 2434 2508 46.31% 13.71% 3.5%

UTSA Main 49,56, 55 1305 1643 1672 1808 1867 1945 1992 52.68% 21.28% 3.9%

281 N. Corridor (Near Airport) 16, 32, 13 2656 3350 3496 3718 3846 4043 4198 58.02% 25.31% 4.2%

Westover Hills / 151 51, 38 1579 1715 1713 1779 1906 1872 2018 27.82% 17.69% 2.3%

Rackspace / Windcrest 18, 17 1751 2549 2631 2715 2639 2645 2725 55.64% 6.90% 4.1%
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Brooks 35 28 37 39 43 42 45 50 77.57% 33.56% 5.4%

TAMU SA 24 149 179 187 192 188 192 198 33.05% 10.69% 2.6%

JBSA / Fort Sam 34, 09, 08 808 973 1024 1075 1154 1192 1248 54.49% 28.32% 4.0%

Port SA 26, 25, 41, 36 990 1395 1407 1418 1359 1337 1468 48.32% 5.24% 3.6%

Stone Oak 58, 57 792 945 968 1046 1087 1124 1161 46.68% 22.83% 3.5%

The table above shows Texas Workforce Commission IT employment aggregated by the zip codes that
comprise each of the major IT employment nodes.

THE LOCATION OF IT IN SAN ANTONIO 23

 However, over one-third of the IT workforce is employed by federal/DoD missions. These positions
are not contained in the state data sources for national security and other reasons. Tech Bloc, in
association with Port San Antonio, has obtained these federal/DoD employment figures, as discussed
earlier in this report. While we know their location across zip codes, the specifics of this data are
restricted from public release. Though not listed in the attached TWC employment table, we’ve adjusted
the aggregate rankings based on the unique DoD employment data obtained by this report.

Tech Bloc’s ranking of the largest tech employment centers based on the latest employment TWC data
and adjusted for unlisted federal/DoD positions is:
Bulverde

Boerne

Port San Antonio (twice as large as the next biggest)

10 New Braunfels
( 1 )

( 2 ) 281 North Corridor

35
9
7 ( 3 ) Westover Hills/Highway 151

5
2
( 4 ) Rackspace/Windcrest
10
4

3
( 5 ) USAA/IH-10/Medical Center
6
8
( 6 ) Joint Base San Antonio / Fort Sam Houston
1
87
( 7 ) UTSA Main Campus / NW Loop 1604
10
( 8 ) Downtown / Broadway-Midtown

35
181 ( 9 ) Stone Oak / 1604 North
( 10 ) Texas A&M University San Antonio

281
37 97

Beyond the nominal employment figures, we can also construct a picture of the relative growth rates
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

of each IT employment hub by looking at employment data for each over the last five and 10 years. Of
course, hubs growing from a smaller base number have the potential to generate higher growth rates.

The rankings contain 5- and 10-year growth rates based solely on Texas Workforce Commission data. As
in the size rankings above, we’ve attempted to adjust the Texas Workforce Commission data with the
unique DoD employment data obtained for this study. Tech Bloc’s adjusted list of some of the fastest-
growing hubs of IT employment over the past five years are below.

( 1 ) Downtown / Midtown / Broadway

( 2 ) Port San Antonio

( 3 ) Westover Hills / Loop 410 and Hwy151

( 4 ) Joint Base San Antonio / Fort Sam Houston

( 5 ) 281 North Corridor

While many of the hubs that existed 10 years ago continue to show growth, it is important to note the
emergence of a new significant hub for tech employment downtown during this same timeframe.

THE LOCATION OF IT IN SAN ANTONIO 24

 REGIONAL LEADERS AGREE –
WE NEED A STRONG TECH ECONOMY

San Antonio’s IT industry has expanded significantly over the last decade.
More companies, from enterprise-level world-class leaders such as USAA,
H-E-B, and Rackspace, to mid-sized and smaller businesses, are leveraging
technologies for greater efficiency and impact. This growth in San Antonio’s
tech scene has become one of the city’s major economic drivers, which is
critical to the future of our rapidly growing city.

Bexar County leadership is focused on creating a friendly business

environment to increase the economic momentum in downtown San Antonio
and across the County. We are active in working with the startup community,
soliciting feedback when developing policies that are inclusive and helpful.
We also continue to work closely with tech entrepreneurs to stimulate more
innovation-driven growth in Bexar County.

Bexar County is proactively engaging with business leaders and other

important stakeholders to build a thriving economy that supports prosperity
for all residents. We will continue to work alongside the business community
in growing our tech industry in San Antonio.

Sincerely,
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Nelson W. Wolff
Bexar County Judge

“This growth in San Antonio’s tech scene has

become one of the city’s major economic
drivers, which is critical to the future of our
rapidly growing city.”

REGIONAL LEADERS AGREE – WE NEED A STRONG TECH ECONOMY 25

 CONCLUSION

Information Technology is one of San Antonio’s major industries

with an economic impact of nearly $11 billion.

Pure IT commercial firms employ more than 20,000 San Antonians at high wages relative to other
industries in the city. San Antonio’s IT industry is growing rapidly in the internet and computer services
sectors and shows no signs of abating.

The broader IT workforce in San Antonio includes more than 48,000 professionals who work in both
civilian and military IT. The strength of this workforce has positioned San Antonio as a center of future
IT growth, especially in cybersecurity, computer services and hosting. There is every indication that the
IT industry in San Antonio will continue to grow and prosper.

This report offers a first look at the location of IT companies and employment in San Antonio. While
the major clusters have remained the same over time, the relative growth rates of among them have
diverged. Especially significant for the future is the employment strength of major hubs such as Port
San Antonio, along with the emergence of a growing startup scene of small companies downtown.
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

About Tech Bloc:

Tech Bloc, a tech industry advocacy non-profit, is a grassroots
movement of over 5,000 tech workers and employers working
to make San Antonio a city of choice for tech jobs and careers.

CONCLUSION 26
 METHODOLOGY AND DATA USED

The information for the economic impact estimates and IT industry employment presented here is
derived from the Texas Workforce Commission’s Covered Employment and Wages database. The data is
aggregated by the TWC into the lines of business defined by the North American Industrial Classification
System (NAICS) coding framework. It represents essentially a 100% sample of all the businesses with
employees in each NAICS subcode.

The specific subcodes included in this study are listed below.

Figure 10. List of NAICS subcode for IT Workforce Economic Impact study

Products

Equipment Manufacturing Wholesale Trade Retail and Publishing

3341 Computer and Peripheral 42343 Computer and Computer 454111 Electronic Shopping
Equipment Manufacturing Peripheral Equipment
5112 Software Publishers
Wholesalers
3344 Semiconductor and Other
Electronic Component 42511 Business to business
Manufacturing electronic markets
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Services

Reproduction Services Computer Services Training and Maintenance

334614 Software and other 541511 Custom Computer 61142 Computer Training
pre-recorded CD, tape and Programming Services
811212 Computer and Office
record reproducing
541512 Computer Systems Design Machine Repair
Internet Services Services
811213 Communication Equipment
518 Data Processing, Hosting 541513 Computer Facilities Repair and Maintenance
and Related Management Services

52232 Financial Transactions 541519 Other Computer Related

Processing, Reserve and Services
Clearinghouse

METHODOLOGY AND DATA USED 27

 The information for the estimates of civilian professional IT workforce came List of figures
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics
Figure 1. Economic Impact of IT on San
website, as aggregated into zip codes by Emsi, a national labor market
Antonio’s Economy, 2000-2020
analytics firm.

Figure 2. Economic Impact of IT

The estimates of the military and federal workforce not included in the
Products and Services, 2000-2020
published TWC statistics came from a survey conducted by Tech Bloc in
association with Port San Antonio. Figure 12 shows the list of military
Figure 3. Economic Impact of
commands and national security organizations surveyed for Federal/Military
Computer Services in San Antonio,
IT employment numbers.
2000-2020

Figure 11. Agencies surveyed by Port San Antonio and Tech Bloc of Federal/ Figure 4. Total IT Professionals,
Military IT employment 2008-2020

16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) Figure 5. Number of employees by

sector, 2000-2020

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center – Cryptologic and

Figure 6. IT Annual Payroll, 2000-2020
Cyber Systems Division

Figure 7. Average IT Wages Vs. San

688th Cyberspace Wing Antonio Average, 2000-2020

67th Cyberspace Wing Figure 8. San Antonio IT workforce

locations by zip code, 2018

NSA Texas
Figure 9. TWC Employees by Zip Code,
2007-2017
Joint Information Operations Warfare Center

Figure 10. List of NAICS subcode for IT

U.S. Secret Service Workforce Economic Impact study
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Federal Bureau of Investigation Figure 11. Agencies surveyed by

Tech Bloc of Federal/Military IT
Army Research Lab South – Cyber employment

Air Force Research Lab

U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center

Air Force Life Cycle Management Human Resources Systems Division

Defense Information Systems Agency

Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center

METHODOLOGY AND DATA USED 28

 SPONSORS

Title Sponsor

Key Benefactors
SAN ANTONIO IT/TECH EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY

Patrons

Accenture Alamo Angels Centro San Antonio

City of San Antonio Codeup Geekdom

Jungle Disk Lyft Michael Girdley

Modern Managed IT OCI Group Prytime Medical

SecureLogix Texas Research & Technology Trinity University

Foundation

Uber USAA VelocityTX

Weston Urban

SPONSORS 29
 I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H :

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