If you're looking to be part of the next big tech startup, here are the cities you should focus on when searching for IT jobs. ABOUT THE HOTSPOT SCORE FOR STARTUP IT JOBS The tech startup hotspot score for each US metro area is an index based on the number of startup IT jobs available per capita in that location and how well those jobs pay, compared to the national average. An index higher than 1 means the metro area offers a better combination of those two factors than the national average.