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New York surpasses San Francisco in tech workforce as AI hiring increases
Aug 24, 2026
AI Summary
New York has become North America's largest tech workforce, surpassing San Francisco for the first time. The growth of AI talent, particularly in financial services, has contributed to this shift, with New York adding over 30,000 tech workers in three years while San Francisco's workforce declined.
- New York's tech workforce grew by 30,640 to 394,300 from 2022 to 2025, according to CBRE's report.
- San Francisco's tech workforce decreased by 23,900 to 375,730 during the same period.
- This marks the first time New York has led in tech workforce headcount in the report's 13-year history.
- New York's tech talent is more diversified across various industries, while 61% of San Francisco's tech workers are in high-tech companies.
- The number of tech workers with AI skills in the U.S. and Canada rose 45% year over year to 751,000 as of mid-2026.
- San Francisco still has more AI specialists and a higher concentration of AI job postings compared to New York.
- In financial services, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth have the highest concentration of AI-specialty talent at 20% each.
- Major banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, are increasing their hiring of AI specialists to enhance efficiency.
- Financial services, insurance, and real estate sectors added 90,530 tech jobs since 2022, while the high-tech sector lost 21,262 jobs.
- Despite New York's lead in headcount, San Francisco remains first in CBRE's overall tech talent ranking due to factors like talent concentration and wages.
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