Watch out Silicon Valley, the Atlanta tech community is on the rise.

» RELATED: Atlanta considered one of the top 5 up-and-coming tech meccas in the nation

The metro, home to the fourth largest tech hub in the United States (Atlanta Tech Village), was ranked among America's "Tech 25" in June, a list of 25 American regions deemed the best in tech by global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Researchers at the firm considered several factors to determine which cities would make up the Tech 25, including each metro’s institutions of higher learning, investment funding, well-qualified workforce, entrepreneurship and more.

» RELATED: The best companies in Georgia to work for if you're a woman in tech

Together, the tech cities outperformed the U.S. in job, income and rent growth over the past seven years, making them some of the biggest drivers of the country’s economy, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Big names in tech such as Silicon Valley (San Jose, California); San Francisco, California; and Washington, D.C. rounded out the top three tech-centric markets.

The Atlanta Tech Village, located in Buckhead, aims to help Atlanta become a top 5 tech startup city.

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Atlanta, home to several high-profile universities such as Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Spelman College and others, is No. 17 on the list.

» RELATED: Georgia Tech grads make up chunk of Silicon Valley employees — more than any Ivy League schools

The metro saw an average growth entrepreneurship of approximately four percent based on the rate of startup growth in the last five years, the number of companies that averaged 20 percent growth over the last three years and the number of businesses creating several jobs.

In April, according to the Technology Association of Georgia, there were nearly 5,000 job openings in technology.

» RELATED: Photos of Atlanta Tech Village’s Buckhead campus

The Tech 25:

  1. San Jose, California (Silicon Valley)
  2. San Francisco/San Mateo, California
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts
  5. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  6. Seattle, Washington
  7. Austin, Texas
  8. Denver/Boulder, Colorado
  9. San Diego, California
  10. Madison, Wisconsin
  11. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
  12. Baltimore, Maryland
  13. Oakland/East Bay, California
  14. Portland, Oregon
  15. New York City, New York
  16. Chicago, Illinois
  17. Atlanta
  18. Los Angeles, California
  19. Columbus, Ohio
  20. Orange County, California
  21. Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
  22. Kansas City, Missouri
  23. Indianapolis, Indiana
  24. Salt Lake City, Utah
  25. Nashville, Tennessee

» RELATED: Full Tech 25 report and analysis

This isn’t the first time Atlanta has been recognized for its burgeoning reputation as a tech city.

Forbes recently referred to the city as one of the top five up-and-coming tech meccas in the nation.

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