New York Overtakes San Francisco as Leading Tech Talent Market Driven by AI Boom

New York Claims Tech Talent Crown from San Francisco

For the first time in 13 years, New York has unseated San Francisco as the top market for tech talent, according to CBRE's latest Scoring Tech Talent report.1

1

New York's office market now hosts 394,300 tech talent jobs, narrowly surpassing the San Francisco Bay Area's 375,730 positions.2

2

This shift represents a significant milestone in the evolving geography of America's tech workforce, with artificial intelligence emerging as the primary catalyst behind the transformation.

The CBRE report, which analyzes tech-specific workers across 75 metropolitan markets in the U.S. and Canada, reveals a tale of two cities moving in opposite directions. While San Francisco has experienced contractions in its tech industry with workforce cuts, New York's finance sector has aggressively expanded its hiring of tech talent and AI workers.1

1

Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE's Tech Insights Center in San Francisco, explained that layoffs in the Bay Area have led to a reduction in its tech sector, even as New York surpasses San Francisco through strategic recruitment.

AI-Related Job Growth Reshapes the Job Market

AI-specific roles have exploded across North America, growing 45% over the past year.2

2

Both New York and San Francisco added more than 20,000 AI-specific roles since mid-2025, demonstrating the technology's transformative impact on employment.3

3

As of June, there were 751,000 AI-related workers across the U.S. and Canada, encompassing both newly created positions and conversions from existing jobs.1

1

AI-related job growth now accounts for nearly one-third of all tech-talent job listings in the U.S., according to the CBRE report.1

1

This concentration is particularly notable when considering that 37% of AI jobs in the U.S. are concentrated in just four markets: San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Seattle, and Washington.1

1

While New York leads in overall tech talent, San Francisco still maintains its edge in AI-specific employment.2

2

Finance Industry Hiring Tech Talent Accelerates Transformation

The finance industry hiring tech talent has emerged as a decisive factor in New York's ascent. New York's finance sector has significantly increased its recruitment of technology professionals, particularly those with AI expertise, transforming the city's employment landscape.2

2

This shift reflects how traditional industries are integrating advanced technology capabilities to remain competitive.

Major AI players including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta maintain significant office space in New York, cementing the city's position as a hub for innovation.3

3

Anthropic has released an entire office building in Manhattan's Hudson Square and plans to double its local tech workforce to more than 1,000 employees by the end of this year.3

3

Smaller cities like Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth also posted substantial gains in their AI workforces, suggesting a broader geographic diversification of tech talent beyond traditional hubs.3

3

Office Leasing Activity Surges in AI Hotspots

Office leasing activity is rising sharply in markets where AI workers are most in demand, contradicting earlier predictions about remote work permanently reducing office space needs.1

1

In San Francisco, AI companies accounted for 58% of all leasing in the first half of this year and have driven approximately 10 million square feet of leasing activity since 2023.1

1

Manhattan, Boston, and Seattle are also experiencing concentrated AI leasing activity.1

1

Office-Centric Work Culture Returns with AI Innovation

The nature of AI work has fostered a return to office-centric work culture, reversing pandemic-era remote work trends. Yasukochi emphasized that in-person collaboration is essential for AI innovation, with workers typically in the office a minimum of four days, but usually five or six days a week.1

1

"Through this whole innovation process, being together and working in person is just much more efficient and innovative," he noted.1

1

Concerns that AI would reduce headcounts and office space requirements have not materialized in the short term. Instead, AI is transforming existing roles and creating new positions rather than eliminating jobs, particularly within the finance sector.1

1

Yasukochi stated, "Growth of AI jobs in the U.S. far outpaced the broader tech-talent category, which expanded by 1.8% last year even as the tech industry cut some non-AI jobs."3

3

Despite New York's lead in total tech talent, San Francisco still ranked first in CBRE's overall tech talent rankings when weighted by factors including talent concentration and research and development investment, followed by Seattle and Toronto, with New York placing fourth.3

3