PROVO AND OREM, Utah — Provo-Orem establishes Utah’s tech corridor as a top destination for AI talent after claiming the eight spot nationally among mid-sized MSAs (500,000-1M population) in CoworkingCafe’s study on the best job markets for AI driven careers, outperforming regional peers like Boise City and markets 42% larger in population, like New Orleans.

Methodology: To identify where careers building and deploying AI systems are gaining ground, CoworkingCafe analyzed more than 300 metropolitan areas — grouped into large, mid-sized and small population brackets — across employment, salaries, job concentration, cost of living, broadband readiness and coworking infrastructure.

Why Provo-Orem is the eight-best mid-sized metro for building a career in AI:

  • Top-10 salary strength for a mid-market: At $122,456 average AI salaries (ninth-highest), the Provo area punches above its weight class with compensation just 2% below Salt Lake City’s tech hub levels, while delivering a superior cost of living versus expensive coastal markets. 
  • Elite AI industry concentration: Provo-Orem’s location quotient of 2.05 (fifth-densest) means AI jobs are over two times more concentrated here than the national average, nearly matching New Orleans (2.03) and ranking among the top 5 mid-sized metros, revealing a maturing tech ecosystem beyond Utah’s capital. 
  • Job volume edge: Despite having 30% fewer residents than Greater New Orleans, the Provo-Orem metro posted 241 AI job openings (ninth highest number) versus NOLA metro’s 217, demonstrating higher demand and the Silicon Slopes’ growing gravitational pull for AI talent and startups. 
  • Infrastructure leader in Mountain West: With 51% high speed fiber coverage (14th highest) and 18 coworking spaces (10th highest), Provo-Orem outpaces regional competitors and most mid-sized markets, providing the digital backbone that tech companies demand when choosing where to establish satellite offices outside major metros. 

Across the U.S., AI job growth remains highly concentrated in a relatively small number of metropolitan areas. Large tech hubs like Silicon Valley, New York and Seattle continue to dominate hiring and pay, but a second tier of emerging markets, including Dallas and several mid-sized innovation hubs, is increasingly capturing new AI roles as companies balance talent access with cost considerations.

Read the full study and methodology: https://www.coworkingcafe.com/blog/msa-for-people-with-ai-jobs/