The IT Industry in Calgary: General Profile

Calgary is one of the fastest-growing tech centers in Canada and considered to be the most adventurous tech city. If you think Calgary is only about skies, mountains, and energy - you are partially right. The city’s main focus in the 21st century is the IT and Tech scene. Now, what we thought Calgary was, evolved into an energetic, digitalized city where businesses are taking risks, develop, innovate and fund new startups. 

Calgary has a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, consolidated by companies and investments that permanently create and innovate digitally.  This fact is also confirmed by numbers - Calgary has one of the highest concentrations of small businesses in North America. The city is the home of 60%+ companies in the Alberta region and all of them were only small startups several years ago.

In addition to all, the local startups that are actually constantly growing, have managed to attract a high number of funds, support, and attention from international big actors who see a high development potential in the city. 

From software to hardware to services, digital transformation is a driver of tech investments by Calgary industries. A study by Calgary Economic Development and IDC Canada forecasts that Calgary companies will lead the $18.4 billion spent on digital transformation in Alberta through 2022.

In 2020 there were 270 startups all around the city across different industries that will grow into strong businesses due to a healthy infrastructure, highly-qualified professionals and constantly increasing wages that attract talents from all over the region, including from the US. 

The average salary in Calgary for the IT sector is somehow comparable to the one from Montreal - $49K vs $45K. However, according to another resource the average salary is estimated at around $66K/year. 

All in all, Calgary is a promising place for searching and/or investing in digital projects, and it is only a matter of time since it will become one of the leading cities in the region, according to our estimations.