While the tech industry in Windsor-Essex is growing faster than the national average, low salary rates make it hard to attract and keep talent.
That's according to The State of Tech report by Workforce WindsorEssex released on Monday.
"I think people don't associate Windsor with tech sometimes but I feel like that's changing. From the data that I've seen, we're growing at an exponential rate. The growth rate for the future is 8.6 per cent which is extremely promising," said Kal Fakreddin, project coordinator.
Fakreddin said talent attraction and retention is a significant challenge the region must overcome.
"The cause mostly is compensation. We are below the national average and with our proximity to Detroit and the GTA people are either working remotely from here or they're leaving to find better employment," said Fakreddin.
The report found the local median salary is nearly $10,000 less than the national median and $40,000 less than the national median average in the United States.