Worker mobility in the U.S. and consolidation in India are key trends shaping the tech landscape in 2025
Karat, the gold standard for measuring and elevating technical talent, released its 2025 rankings of the Top Cities to Hire Software Engineers. Karat’s fourth annual report examines the shifting dynamics of tech hiring around the world.
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For the first time, Karat’s rankings analyze both candidate location and role location data. This new methodology paints a fascinating picture of not just where top tech talent lives today, but also into where it is moving.
Overall the report points to an improving labor market, emerging tech hubs, the continued rise of India, and the emergence of high-quality nearshore hubs across Eastern-Europe and South America.
Tech hiring is picking up
Amidst this global transformation, 2024 also saw tech hiring rebound from its 2023 lows. Hiring targets are once again on the rise as more organizations move from evaluating to implementing AI-powered transformations.
This return to stability is shifting more decision-making power back to candidates. Close rates (the percentage of candidates who accept job offers) retreated from the all-time highs of 2023. 62% of elite candidates (engineers who scored in the top quartile of all technical interviews) accepted job offers last year, down from 66% in 2023. Similarly, strong candidates (engineers scoring above the typical tech company hiring bar) saw close rates drop from 81% in 2023 to 67% in 2024.
America’s emerging tech hubs
While San Francisco and Seattle have historically dominated the U.S. rankings, they’re now seeing an outflow of talent to other markets. Washington, D.C. and Austin were the biggest beneficiaries, each rising significantly based on the ability of companies to draw talent out of the traditional tech hubs.
Surging demand for tech workers has many D.C.-area tech companies looking for candidates willing to relocate. Two thirds of out-of-market candidates interviewing for D.C. jobs previously resided in San Francisco, Seattle, or New York.
Remote jobs drawing top candidates
Post-pandemic worker mobility has also had a lasting effect on where top engineers are seeking opportunities. In fact, if “remote” roles were classified as a city, it would have the highest concentration of elite engineers, with 44% of the candidates who interviewed for remote roles scoring in the top quartile of all interviews.
As hiring accelerates, the power balance will continue to swing back from employers to candidates. This trend will be challenging for organizations pursuing return-to-office mandates, and will present opportunities for companies that are open to remote or hybrid work. Prioritizing the benefits of in-person productivity or flexible candidate quality will be one of the most important talent strategy decisions that engineering leaders make moving forward.
Global Capability Centers fueling the rise of India
India saw a notable change in rankings as Bangalore surpassed Hyderabad as the top city, while leaping into the global top-5. Unlike the changes happening in the U.S., Bangalore’s rise is largely a result of the consolidation of talent in Global Capability Centers (GCCs). Last year, one in every three new GCCs chose Bangalore as their home, propelling the city into the top-5 for the first time.
This rise has drawn some top talent out of the other Indian markets, as elite engineers gravitate to full-time GCC roles as opposed to contract and engineering-services positions that are attracting lower-concentrations of top talent.
Get the full rankings
To see the full list of the top-40 cities based on elite candidate concentrations, download the full 2025 Top Cities to Hire Software Engineers report.
About Karat
Karat makes it easy to hire great engineers. From application to offer, Karat is helping the world’s largest companies improve the quality, efficiency, and equity of their technical hiring process. Through innovative assessments, live expert-led technical interviews and unmatched talent insights, Karat makes it possible to hire quickly and confidently while giving every candidate an equal opportunity to show what they can do. Learn more about why global leaders like PayPal, Atlassian, and Citi trust Karat to help them hire top talent and build exceptional engineering teams at karat.com.
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Contacts
Gordie Hanrahan
Sr. Director Communications
press@karat.com
