Reno has been compared to Silicon Valley, however three successful startups explain why they favor the biggest little city.

Rising rents and crowded freeways have put tension on the American Dream in the Bay Area. Tech giants have staked their claim in the region and are enticing not only startups, but talented people who are striving for something more. U.S. Census data taken in the Bay Area showed an emigration in 2016. Educated tech workers are moving out of the area and many of them are coming here to Reno.

VentureBeat talked to three Reno startups about their growth outside of the tech metropolis of Silicon Valley.

TrainerRoad

Nate Pearson founded TrainerRoad on the simple idea that he was a broke college grad who couldn’t pay

The Biggest Little City has averaged more than 10,000 new jobs to the region for the past two years.

Per the EDAWN (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada) Executive Updates job growth chart, Reno is ahead of the projections for 52,400 new jobs for the five-year period January 2015 – 2019. The unemployment rate has dropped from over 13% five years ago to under 5% as we are approaching full employment.

In a normal market nationwide, typical population growth is about 1% every year and Nevada is almost double that rate. The state was named one of the two fastest growing states in the last year and has attracted several new companies and startups to the community.

There are still a projected 30,000 new jobs to be filled over the years

The University of Nevada, founded in 1874, is updating about a dozen of its buildings.

Located in Reno, NV, UNR offers dozens of undergraduate degrees and master’s programs, including business, education, medicine and engineering. The university also specializes in earthquake research and is home to hone of the largest earthquake-simulation laboratories in the country. Just this week, the new E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center opened – a $47.5 million project that includes a gym with three basketball courts, an indoor running track and state-of-the-art equipment. The Wiegand Fitness Center is the first of many new updates that the University has planned, or completed. Learn more below!

E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center, opened February 2017

For students,