Sacramento Named One Of The Friendliest Startup Cities In Nation

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Is Sacramento the next tech hot spot?

According to a new report, the capital city is now one of the friendliest startup cities in the nation. It's a message Mayor Darrell Steinberg has been driving home since he took office, and Monday he shared even more plans to catapult the city into a technology leader.

"There is no reason why Sacramento should not be the center of technology, innovation," said Mayor Steinberg.

According to a new report, it's headed in that direction. JLL, a commercial real estate and investment agency, calls Sacramento a 'hidden gem' thanks to spillover from the expensive Bay Area. It's affordable, it's convenient, and it's already home to thousands with tech-based talent.

Philip Mueller, CEO of Voter Guide Inc. says, "Life is just easier in Sacramento."

Mueller's web based business which provides technology for political campaigns is a start-up company ran out of hacker labs in Midtown, a hub of innovation where technology is front and center.

"Make it very easy to start your business there's a tremendous technology here," says Mueller.

Fresh off a cross-country trip, Mayor Steinberg Monday touted Sacramento's tech transformation. At the annual Mayor's Conference in Miami, he said the city was spotlighted for its recent deal with Verizon to expand free wireless internet coverage. And, during his visit to Georgia Tech, the mayor applauded the university's "Tech Square," saying it's innovation he wants to bring home to Sacramento, so the city can also better partner with UC Davis and Sac State.

"To create startups, to create new businesses and to help create pathways," said Steinberg.

The report from JLL focused on computer software programmers in Sacramento. It says there's a talent pool of more than 11,000 people, earning a salary range about 20 percent less than the salary in the Bay Area.