New York has overtaken San Francisco as the leading market for tech talent, with a report from CBRE indicating that New York’s office market now hosts 394,300 tech jobs, compared to 375,730 in the San Francisco Bay Area. This marks the first time in 13 years of analysis that New York has taken the lead in tech employment.
The growth in New York’s tech workforce is largely attributed to the rise of artificial intelligence roles. Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, noted that layoffs in the Bay Area have led to a contraction in its tech sector, while New York’s finance industry has significantly increased its hiring of tech talent, particularly in AI.
According to the report, AI-specific roles in the U.S. and Canada have surged by 45% over the past year, with both San Francisco and New York adding over 20,000 AI jobs since mid-2025. Currently, there are approximately 751,000 AI-related workers in both countries, representing nearly one-third of all tech job listings.
While San Francisco continues to lead in AI-specific jobs, New York’s overall tech job growth signifies a shift in the market landscape. The concentration of AI jobs in Canada is notable, with 60% located in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As demand for AI talent increases, office leasing in these markets has also risen significantly. In San Francisco, AI companies accounted for 58% of all office leasing in the first half of this year, totaling about 10 million square feet since 2023.
The pandemic prompted many tech workers to shift to remote work, but the nature of AI jobs has led to a resurgence in office-centric work culture. Yasukochi emphasized the importance of in-person collaboration in fostering innovation, stating that AI roles typically require workers to be in the office at least four to six days a week.
Concerns that AI might lead to reduced workforce sizes and a decreased need for office space have not materialized in the short term. Yasukochi commented that AI tends to transform jobs rather than eliminate them, particularly within the finance sector, where new roles are emerging alongside existing ones.
Featured image credit
