10. Sacramento, Calif.

Tech Employment Growth, 2015-2016: 10.8 percent

Change in Momentum, 2013-2016: 10.1 percent

The California capital saw a 25 percent jump in tech jobs from 2011 to 2016 and a 7.5 percent increase in average annual salary, to a mean of $91,892, according to federal data. Meanwhile, the number of technology degree holders soared 41 percent from 2011 to 2015, according to data CBRE cited from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Tim Burke, president and CEO of Quest Technology Management, a Sacramento-based solution provider, calls the area a "great alternative" to the Bay Area, a two-hour drive southwest. "Much of the tech talent is migrating [from the Bay Area] due to relative affordability," he said in an email to ITBestOfBreed. "This region historically is not thought of as a hot spot. However, I have found when people live here a couple years, they don’t want to leave. They have access to the mountains, Bay Area … and Napa regions within 100 miles, and they can buy a house."