According to new report by Transwestern DC, the Washington-metro area is the second-largest tech employment hub in the US, trailing only San Francisco Bay’s Silicon Valley. And although the Baltimore metro’s tech sector pales in comparison to other large metros, it's seen huge growth in the past 25 years.

In the past five years, tech companies leased an average of 2.2M SF of office and flex/industrial space per year (above). Transwestern notes that while 2014 came below this average, 2015 is on track to match it, due in part to a number of fast-growing tech companies. According to Inc. 5000, Washington is second only to New York when it comes to these companies (below).

Due to increasing demand for cloud computing and protection from cyber-attacks, Transwestern expects DC and Baltimore’s tech sectors to continue to grow at a healthy pace over the next several years. Employment will also increase at an annual rate of 3.5% (placing it above the national growth rate of 2.4%), which will bolster the need for office and flex/industrial properties throughout the region.