New York Tech Talent Tops San Francisco, CBRE Finds

New York Tech Talent Tops San Francisco, CBRE Finds · CRE Daily

Andres Daniel

Mon, August 24, 2026 at 8:36 PM GMT+3 4 min read

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Key Takeaways

New York's office market recorded 394,300 tech-talent jobs in June, edging past San Francisco's 375,730 for the first time in CBRE's 13-year analysis.
AI-specific roles grew 45 percent over the past year across the U.S. and Canada, with New York and San Francisco each adding more than 20,000 AI jobs since mid-2025.
AI companies drove 58 percent of San Francisco office leasing in the first half of 2026, signaling AI hiring is reshaping office demand well beyond New York.

New York has overtaken San Francisco as the top U.S. market for tech talent for the first time in 13 years, according to a new CBRE report. The city's office market counted 394,300 tech-talent jobs as of June, narrowly outpacing the Bay Area's 375,730, as artificial intelligence reshapes where tech employers plant their flags.

A Historic Flip

CBRE has tracked tech talent across 75 U.S. and Canadian metros for 13 years. San Francisco topped the list every year until now.

The shift reflects diverging fortunes rather than a mass migration to New York. San Francisco's tech sector shed jobs as employers cut headcount. New York's finance industry, meanwhile, ramped up AI hiring.

"The story there is that there's been cuts in the Bay Area, so the tech industry has contracted the size of the tech talent workforce, and the finance sector [in New York] has hired a lot of tech talent and a lot of AI workers," said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE's Tech Insights Center.

The reversal is notable for a metro that has defined the tech workforce for more than a decade. It also suggests AI is shifting where tech talent works.

The Details

AI-specific roles grew 45% across the U.S. and Canada over the past year. New York and San Francisco each added more than 20,000 AI jobs since mid-2025.

As of June, the two countries had 751,000 AI-related workers combined. The total includes new positions and workers who moved into AI roles. AI positions now account for nearly one-third of U.S. tech-talent job listings.

The San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C., hold 37% of U.S. AI jobs. New York now leads overall tech talent, but San Francisco remains the leader in AI employment.

That gap reflects the Bay Area's head start in building AI-native startups. Its broader tech workforce has still contracted.

Canada's AI workforce is even more concentrated. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver account for 60% of the country's AI jobs.

Zooming Out

The talent shift is already affecting office leasing. AI companies accounted for 58% of San Francisco office leasing in the first half of 2026.

Since 2023, AI companies have driven 30% of the market's leasing activity. That represents about 10 million square feet.

Outside the Bay Area, Manhattan, Boston and Seattle have attracted the most AI-related leasing. The trend mirrors AI's growing office footprint across the broader market.

Why It Matters

AI's office culture is pushing against the remote-work trend that weakened San Francisco during the pandemic.

"It's more of the sort of startup innovation culture that we've seen, where people are in the office [a] minimum of four, but usually like five or six days a week," Yasukochi said.

That expectation is boosting office demand. New York's finance-sector hiring spree is also adding tech workers and supporting demand.

The trend challenges early fears that automation would reduce headcounts and office needs. It also aligns with broader global leasing patterns this year.

What's Next

Yasukochi expects AI to keep "changing jobs and creating new jobs, more so than it eliminates," particularly in finance.

CBRE will watch whether other finance and professional-services hubs follow New York's lead. It will also track whether San Francisco's AI leasing rebound can offset broader tech job losses.

For landlords, the ranking flip offers an early signal. AI hiring could continue shifting office demand even as broader tech employment grows more slowly.