Full Breakdown
New York Overtakes San Francisco as Largest U.S. Tech Talent Hub
8/22/2026, 2:27:39 AM
Core Event: Shift in Tech Workforce Headcount
In 2025 the New York metropolitan area recorded 394,300 tech-talent jobs, surpassing the San Francisco Bay Area’s 375,730 positions. This is the first time in CBRE’s 13-year “Scoring Tech Talent” series that New York leads in total tech-worker headcount.
Background & Context: AI-Driven Labor Realignment
CBRE’s analysis of 75 U.S. and Canadian metros shows AI-related roles expanding 45 % year-over-year, adding more than 20,000 AI-specific jobs in each of New York and San Francisco since mid-2025. The surge coincided with a broader tech downturn that began in 2022, prompting layoffs in the Bay Area while New York’s finance, insurance and real-estate (FIRE) sectors absorbed displaced workers.
Data & Statistics
- Tech-talent growth: New York’s tech workforce grew 8.4 % from 2022, adding 30,640 jobs; San Francisco’s tech employment fell 6 %, a loss of 23,900 jobs.
- AI concentration: AI positions now represent nearly one-third of all tech-talent listings in the United States. By market, 37 % of U.S. AI jobs are located in the Bay Area, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
- Office-space demand: Manhattan saw 1.8 million sq ft of AI-related leasing in 2026, up from roughly 1.4 million sq ft in 2025. The second quarter of 2026 alone generated 800,000 sq ft of AI office demand, surpassing the prior year’s total.
- Rent impact: Average Manhattan rent reached $3,653 per month in Q4 2025, an 8 % increase from three years earlier; a later report noted a peak of $6,655 per month.
Official Statements & Responses
CBRE executives attribute New York’s rise to job reductions in the Bay Area, continued hiring in New York’s FIRE sectors, and the influx of AI talent. The firm also highlights the city’s large graduate pipeline and comparatively lower software-engineer wages, which attract companies establishing East-Coast headquarters.
Verbatim Quotes
- “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,” — Colin Yasukochi, CBRE Tech Insights Center, San Francisco
- “The region combines a robust pipeline of graduates with a growing concentration of AI talent and sustained job creation, making it one of North America’s most attractive locations for technology companies,” — Lauren Crowley Corrinet, vice chair at CBRE
What’s Next
CBRE’s data suggest that AI-related office demand will continue to outpace overall leasing activity in Manhattan throughout 2026, reinforcing the city’s position as a primary destination for technology firms expanding eastward.
