Artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning have drawn a lot of attention from technologists over the past few years. Mastering these skills can unlock all kinds of neat opportunities—and a considerable bump in compensation. From the biggest of the big tech companies to the smallest startups, nearly every organization seems interested in hiring A.I. experts.

But which states are seeing the most hiring activity for A.I. experts? For an answer, we can turn to CompTIA’s monthly Job Report, which analyzes job postings to determine tech employment trends. Here’s the full chart; as you can see, the states that host some of the country’s most mature tech hubs are also big on hiring A.I. experts:

The notable gains in Texas, Florida, and Illinois are interesting. During the pandemic, Texas did its best to encourage the migration of technologists and tech companies from Silicon Valley to cities such as Austin. The effort succeeded: Since 2020, a number of tech giants have erected either a new headquarters or a major facility in the state, including Oracle, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Tesla. 

Florida has also tried to encourage tech migration, highlighting its quality of life and lack of state income tax. Chicago is also doing its best to attract technologists. As these cities pull in more tech activity, it might lead to a notable rise in A.I.-related jobs; a growing tech hub has the resources and talent base to foster larger A.I. projects.

Late last year, O’Reilly estimated the average salary of data and A.I. professionals at $146,000 per year, based on a survey of 2,778 respondents in the U.S. and 284 in the U.K. Average compensation was highest in California ($176,000), home to a number of companies (such as Google) competing fiercely for A.I. talent. Those salary numbers will likely grow, along with the number of jobs available, as more companies around the country figure out their A.I. strategies.