How does Silicon Valley compare to Canada’s most dynamic tech ecosystem? We did a head-to-head comparison using third-party data to see which community gives tech companies the greatest competitive advantages.
The hard facts matter.
When site selectors are tasked with finding the best location for a company’s new office, their primary objective is to minimize risk by eliminating any communities that simply don’t work. The fastest way to eliminate contenders is through comparative data – the numbers that objectively identify a community’s strengths and weaknesses.
The numbers don’t lie.
Every company might weigh these numbers differently, but issues like workforce, salaries, taxes, quality-of-life and relevant post-secondary programs are core to every expansion decision in the tech industry.
Our new Technology Data Book offers comparative third-party data covering each of these categories. Our goal is to provide you with apples-to-apples comparisons for eleven major tech ecosystems in North America. You can download it now.
What does this data look like? We’re giving you a taste below with a comparison between Waterloo region and Silicon Valley. What happens when you use data to compare Canada’s most dynamic tech ecosystem with the behemoth that is Silicon Valley? Find out.
Key Takeaways
- Silicon Valley has a larger total tech workforce, but negative population growth
- The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor has a comparable tech workforce to Silicon Valley
- Waterloo’s population of young professionals is growing faster than any tech talent market in North America
- An office in Silicon Valley costs more than double what you’d pay in Waterloo
- Waterloo’s payroll taxes are lower than anywhere in the United States, including Silicon Valley
Data Point #1: Tech workforce size and growth
Source: CBRE Scoring Tech Talent, 2025
Well, this seems like a bit of a wipe-out for Waterloo. Maybe a bit unsurprising since we’re talking about a mid-size community versus THE global tech powerhouse. But there’s more to the story. Yes, Silicon Valley has way more tech workers – in places like San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto, etc. – but it doesn’t have another giant tech talent market on its doorstep.
Waterloo does.
Toronto, North America’s 6th largest city, has 334,200 tech workers and is just one hour away from Waterloo. That takes the total tech workforce to a respectable 373,600 for the comparable Toronto-Waterloo Corridor geography. The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is catching up – fast.
Data Point #2: Population growth
Sources: Lightcast, 2025. Population growth from 2018-2023 at the CD/MSA level; CBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report 2025
Yes, Silicon Valley is bigger in terms of population, but it’s heading in the wrong direction!
Waterloo’s strong population growth – the third fastest-growing in Canada, in fact – is a big positive, but it’s our growth rate in the millennial and Gen-Z demographics that’s a real eye-opener. Waterloo has the top growth rate in these two demographics among all 50 communities included in the 2025 CBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report.
People of working age are moving to the Waterloo area in droves, even as they leave Silicon Valley in significant numbers.
Data Point #3: Estimated one-year company cost
Source: CBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report 2025 – based on office space and wages for 500 people
Woah now. That’s a big difference.
An office in Silicon Valley will cost more than double what you’d pay in Waterloo. The exact same office. The same number of employees, working in the same roles, in the same amount of office space.
CBRE calculates this using real estate and salaries, but Canada’s tax advantages add even more to the difference. If you’re a scaling company looking to gain capacity without breaking the bank, Waterloo is going to give you a lot more runway – better bang for your buck.
Data Point #4: Payroll taxes
Source: Taxes from respective governments – based on an average office-based employee salary of $75,000 USD.
In Silicon Valley, your company will pay $1,300 more in payroll tax per software engineer than you’d pay in Waterloo. A hypothetical employee earning $75,000 in Silicon Valley would require businesses to pay $6,017.50 per year for things like unemployment insurance, medicare and social security, while an employee earning the same salary in the Waterloo area would cost just $4,781.08 per year.
Canada has a reputation of being a high-tax jurisdiction, but when it comes to business, it’s just not true. Our payroll taxes are lower than anywhere in the United States.
Data Point #5: Average monthly apartment rent
Sources: StatsCan, Q1, 2025; Median Gross Rent by Bedrooms, 2-bedroom. US Census Bureau, 2024.
For anyone living in Silicon Valley, this data point can’t come as a surprise. California has the highest average rent in the United States and the Bay Area is the home to some of North America’s most expensive neighbourhoods.
Waterloo isn’t exactly cheap, but in comparison, it’s affordable. If your company is concerned about employees having a great quality of life, well, it all starts with being able to afford the roof over your head. In Waterloo, that roof is more attainable.
In the end, there’s a reason why Google established its Canadian Engineering Headquarters in our community. It’s the same reason companies like Carta, Enlighted, MasterClass, DialPad, Cisco, Turntide Technologies, McAfee and Block are growing here. It comes down to talent, cost, quality-of-life and, harder to measure, our collaborative culture. If you want to know more about Waterloo – or you want to explore expansion – check out our services and contact pages.
Our new Data Book offers thirteen different tables comparing salaries, taxes, population growth, talent diversity and more across eleven North American tech communities, including Austin, Seattle, Detroit, New York and Pittsburgh. Download your free copy now.