Introduction

Los Angeles, California is a hotspot for technical innovation and startup culture in the US.

Be Great Partners’ recent LA Startup Industry Report ranked Los Angeles third globally, behind only Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv, in terms of startup population, funding, entrepreneurship, and more.

“L.A.’s creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and prized resources, such as local universities and the entertainment industry, are what make this city one of the top start-up friendly ecosystems in the world. We have a great opportunity to further support technology investment in the region by branding Los Angeles as the place for high-growth tech.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

What is Silicon Beach?

One of the unique things about LA as a global tech hub is the wide reach of its tech scene. Unlike Silicon Valley or NYC, LA’s tech ecosystem is spread out across several major hotspots such as Silicon Beach, Downtown LA, West LA and the South Bay.

Silicon Beach is frequently described as “LA’s hottest tech scene”. Spanning Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista, Playa del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Culver City, Silicon Beach is home to many of the largest tech companies in the US, including:

• Snap Inc, owner of social media giant Snapchat
• Headspace, the leading healthtech meditation app
• Naughty Dog, the game development company behind giants like The Last of Us
• Postmates, acquired by Uber but still headquartered in LA
• Hulu, one of the leading streaming services
• TaskUs, the CX software company powering Tinder and Hootsuite
• Google, relocated to Playa Vista back in 2018

In 2016, LA startups alone raised a massive $4.2 billion in funding, most of which are based in the Silicon Beach area.

How many developers are in LA?

LA has a thriving tech scene, boasting the fourth-largest workforce of AI specialists in North America, and the second-highest region for technical degree completion in 2022, according to the CBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report. More broadly, California is the top state by developer population in the US, with over 500,000 professional developers working in 2015, according to DQYDJ.

Elsewhere in California, San Francisco is ranked in the top five for tech workers in artificial intelligence, data science, web development, and cloud computing, according to a 2025 report by CourseReport.

However, this still isn’t enough to meet demand. LA outranks San Francisco in 2025 for tech job openings, coming fourth nationwide, according to Bioscience LA.

Is it hard to hire a developer in LA?

As a major tech hub, it can be hard to find highly skilled developers in LA that fit your budget. Los Angeles has a highly competitive tech talent market, with startups and small businesses struggling to compete with the salaries and benefits offered by major players in the region.

Talent retention can also be a challenge, with many developers looking to start their own companies as a result of LA’s strong startup culture.

As a result, many companies in Los Angeles are turning to dedicated tech hiring platforms like HireDevelopers.com to simplify the process of hiring developers and tech talent in LA. These platforms offer a faster alternative to traditional hiring, offering thousands of pre-vetted engineers currently looking for new opportunities.

How much does it cost to hire a developer in LA?

According to Built In, the average annual compensation for a software developer in Los Angeles is $171,323, around $40,000 more than the national average for software developers in the United States and over $100,000 more than the national average salary for all jobs in the US.

With pre-vetted platforms like HireDevelopers.com, companies in LA can save up to 80% on salaries and hiring costs.

How to hire a developer in LA

The first step to hiring a developer in Los Angeles is to decide on a hiring method. Traditional hiring methods include local job adverts, LinkedIn job posts and using your professional network to identify potential candidates.

However, these methods are often time consuming and can be expensive. The median time to hire a developer is around 41 days, with the slowest 10% taking up to 82 days and 38% of companies reporting project delays due to recruitment problems, according to the Linux Foundation’s 2024 State of Tech Talent Report.

Alternatively, many companies are now turning to services like HireDevelopers to cut costs and speed up the hiring process. With HireDevelopers, you can hire LA developers at any price point and in just 24 hours.

You should also consider using coding challenges alongside a traditional interview during the hiring process – if you’re using a pre-vetted talent pool like HireDevelopers, this has already been done for you. Coding challenges allow you to assess problem-solving skills and coding expertise in a realistic, real-time environment.

If you need help putting together a job description or conducting a job interview, you can check out our helpful and comprehensive guides below. Alternatively, to cut your time-to-hire by 90% and unlock savings of up to 80%, get in touch and book your free HireDevelopers consultation today.

Why hire LA developers with HireDevelopers?

Hiring the right Los Angeles developer for your team is a huge undertaking, and the process can be intimidating, especially for startups and small businesses.

At HireDevelopers, our pre-vetted, global tech talent marketplace streamlines your hiring journey and cuts time-to-hire by over 90% without compromising on quality or stretching your budget. Receive a custom shortlist of top developers at any seniority level and at any price point within just 24 hours of your consultation.

Plus, we’ll handle all payroll, legal compliance and HR completely for free, giving you more time to start building with your new LA dev.

Get in touch today and start hiring top-notch Los Angeles developers in just 24 hours with HireDevelopers.com