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Job outlook for chief technology officers in the United States
Chief technology officer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected chief technology officer job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 189,200 new jobs for chief technology officers are projected over the next decade.
Chief technology officer salaries have increased 3% for chief technology officers in the last 5 years.
There are over 26,345 chief technology officers currently employed in the United States.
There are 124,289 active chief technology officer job openings in the US.
The average chief technology officer salary is $172,989.
Are chief technology officer jobs in demand?
Chief Technology Officer job and salary trends over time
Chief Technology Officer jobs over time
Chief Technology Officer job growth rate over time
Year  | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26,345 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 24,108 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 23,432 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 20,959 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 19,796 | 0.01% |
Average chief technology officer salary over time
Chief Technology Officer salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $172,989 | $83.17 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | $171,603 | $82.50 | --2.7% |
| 2023 | $176,384 | $84.80 | +3.5% |
| 2022 | $170,496 | $81.97 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $168,579 | $81.05 | +3.5% |
Chief Technology Officer jobs by state
Most common states for chief technology officers
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 377 | 54% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 2,425 | 35% |
| 3 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 231 | 31% |
| 4 | Vermont | 623,657 | 196 | 31% |
| 5 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,674 | 30% |
| 6 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 2,431 | 29% |
| 7 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 479 | 28% |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 375 | 28% |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 500 | 26% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,510 | 25% |
| 11 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 2,123 | 24% |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 257 | 24% |
| 13 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,731 | 23% |
| 14 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,301 | 23% |
| 15 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,779 | 22% |
| 16 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 2,235 | 22% |
| 17 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 926 | 22% |
| 18 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,143 | 21% |
| 19 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,472 | 21% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 441 | 21% |
Most common cities for chief technology officers
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodlawn | 1 | 3% | $152,071 |
| 2 | Atlanta | 4 | 1% | $140,967 |
| 3 | Ann Arbor | 1 | 1% | $170,611 |
| 4 | Cambridge | 1 | 1% | $172,616 |
| 5 | Edison | 1 | 1% | $195,313 |
| 6 | Palo Alto | 1 | 1% | $185,215 |
| 7 | Chicago | 5 | 0% | $159,959 |
| 8 | Boston | 3 | 0% | $172,563 |
| 9 | New York | 3 | 0% | $181,388 |
| 10 | Washington | 3 | 0% | $174,976 |
| 11 | Miami | 2 | 0% | $142,277 |
| 12 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $152,096 |
| 13 | Chandler | 1 | 0% | $132,455 |
| 14 | Irvine | 1 | 0% | $179,569 |
| 15 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $180,466 |
| 16 | Oakland | 1 | 0% | $185,351 |
| 17 | San Francisco | 1 | 0% | $185,596 |
| 18 | San Jose | 1 | 0% | $184,829 |
Chief Technology Officer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of chief technology officer experts
University Of Nevada, Las Vegas
Chapman University
University of Florida
Indiana University
University of Illinois at Chicago
Loyola University Chicago
Dak Kopec Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Coordinator, BA Interior Architecture and Design and Master of Design ProgramUniversity Of Nevada, Las Vegas
School of Architecture
What experience really stands out on Chief Technology Officer resumes?
Dak Kopec Ph.D.: Experience in the areas where one intends to practice. If someone wants to work in hospitality design, an employer will see what kind of experience they have. This is why selecting one's internship location is so important.
Many employers are also looking to see how well the Interior Designer can think outside the box and develop innovative design ideas.
An area of specialized knowledge that will complement the existing design team. Most firms are looking for future leaders.
What soft skills should all Chief Technology Officers possess?
Tom Springer Ph.D.: -Good communication skills
-Ability to exercise critical thinking and innovative problem solving
-Able to work under supervision and mentoring
-Works well in a team-oriented environment
Peter Dobbins Ph.D.
LecturerUniversity of Florida
Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Chief Technology Officer job market given the pandemic?
Peter Dobbins Ph.D.: I have heard points toward the "working remotely" model. As Computer Scientists, this is something we have known and in certain cases actually have been doing for a number of years. Industry shifts adapting to COVID have brought the fields surrounding CS into the remote work model... and are finding it works! As one of the first fields to embrace the model (a simple transition given how natural the fit), CS majors will only continue to find remote work opportunities.
What skills stand out on Chief Technology Officer resumes?
Bipin Prabhakar: Skills by themselves on resumes do not provide enough information for the reviewer to assess a candidate. The resume has to showcase the actual capabilities rather than just listing skills. What can you actually do with the listed skill? With that said, deep skills in software development, data science and AI or the broad set of skills required to enable digital transformation will be in demand. Digital transformation requires skills in business analysis, business process and process design, technologies such as next generation ERP systems, AI and ML, cloud architectures and platforms and business analytics.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Chief Technology Officers to find work opportunities?
Bipin Prabhakar: There are three major sectors that hire technology graduates - the tech companies that tend to be in tech hubs and major cities, major corporations that are all over the country and consulting organizations that tend to have offices in the bigger cities with access to local clients or well-connected airports. Major employers tend to recruit nationally from the top programs across the country. The best time to find work is before graduation and the best place to find work is the campus recruitment process.
What Chief Technology Officer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Matthew Liotine Ph.D.: If a student decides to take time off before moving on to a job or graduate school, they should use that time to develop skills in which you may not receive formal training while in college. For example, skills like leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication are going to be more vital than ever in the new norm.
What general advice would you give to a Chief Technology Officer?
Matthew Liotine Ph.D.: Most employers tell me that soft skills are equally, if not more important, than technical skills or domain knowledge. This translates into external/internal customer-facing skills, such as communication, team collaboration, writing, presentation, problem-solving, and being resourceful. (Many graduates overlook writing as a vital skill, but they fail to realize that in the course of their jobs, they will likely be required to write lots of memos and tons of emails.) The need to perfect these skills within the confines of a virtual world has become even more challenging and amplified with COVID. I teach in the information systems discipline, and when you view student resumes, many people look the same on paper. The soft skills will make a candidate stand out head and shoulders above the rest. That's why the candidate should pay attention to the screening interviews that they will undergo during the hiring process since employers will use these interviews to vet these skills.
What type of skills will young Chief Technology Officers need?
Peter Dordal Ph.D.: I'm leaving off software developers, and answering about our Information Technology graduates.
IT students entering the business world will need to know how to get the maximum leverage out of business systems. In many cases, this will mean writing their own specialized queries to extract the precise business intelligence needed; general-purpose "canned" queries just won't cut it. They will need a broad understanding of what software can accomplish for the enterprise and how to deploy new software effectively; this applies to software used in the office as well as to software used in manufacturing and shipping. And they will need to understand how to lease storage and computing resources from the cloud to meet not only predictable, long-term demands but also sudden short-term business projects.
Students working in database administration and management will need to be able to manage much larger volumes of data than a few years ago. They will need to be familiar with the great variety of new databases in order to pick the best tool for the job.
Students working in network management will need to be able to ensure that everyone has the bandwidth and server access they need, as those demands expand to include extensive video, low-latency real-time connectivity, and the regular transfer of huge amounts of data.
Students in cybersecurity will need to be fully acquainted with all the recommended best practices. However, they will also have to be able to anticipate and guard against potential new vulnerabilities. "By the book" protection is no longer sufficient.