New York (get the details) Surpasses San Francisco in Tech Worker Count for the First Time
New York has more tech workers than the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time since CBRE began tracking this data 13 years ago. According to their Scoring Tech Talent 2026 report, New York's tech talent jobs reached 394,300 in 2025, surpassing the Bay Area's 375,730.
Despite not growing the fastest, New York added 30,640 tech jobs between 2022 and 2025, while the Bay Area lost 23,900.
Headcount vs. Ranking
It's important to note that while New York has more tech workers, San Francisco remains ranked first. The report scores 50 markets on 13 weighted metrics, with the top six remaining unchanged from last year: San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, New York Metro, Austin, and Washington, D.C.
AI Jobs and Trends
The AI workforce across the US and Canada reached 751,000 in mid-2026, growing 45% year over year. Both New York and San Francisco each added over 20,000 AI roles since mid-2025.
San Francisco still leads in AI specifically, with Quartz reporting 98,699 AI workers in the Bay Area compared to New York Metro's 67,949.
Four metros hold 37% of American AI-specialty talent: the Bay Area, New York, Seattle, and Washington.
Shifting Job Market
The clearest signal in the job market is the rise of AI roles. In June 2026, AI roles made up 31% of available US tech talent jobs, compared to 11% at the 2022 hiring peak. In the Bay Area, the AI share grew from 20% to 57%.
In contrast, non-AI tech postings have plummeted. They have fallen 60% across the US and 73% in the Bay Area since the 2022 peak.
Job Cuts and AI
CBRE's report also highlights significant job cuts in the tech sector. In 2025, employers cut 1.21 million jobs, up from 761,358 in 2024. Through June 2026, tech accounted for a record 31% of announced cuts, with AI directly blamed for 101,743 cuts, a 22.9% share. This marks a fivefold increase in six months.
However, Colin Yasukochi, who runs CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, told CNBC that AI "basically changes jobs and creates new jobs, more so than it eliminates," emphasizing the complex impact of AI on the job market.