New York overtakes the Bay Area as top tech market
For the first time in the history of CBRE's analysis, New York leads with 394,300 tech jobs, ahead of the Bay Area — driven by AI roles and finance.
Illustration · AI-generated (AI IN LIFE)
At a glance
- New York: about 394,300 tech jobs; San Francisco Bay Area: about 375,730 (CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2026)
- New York's first-ever top spot in the 13-year history of CBRE's analysis
- AI roles: roughly one third of all US tech job listings, growing about 45 percent year over year
- Both regions added more than 20,000 AI positions each since mid-2025
- Report published August 21, 2026, covered by CNBC and Quartz
What happened? New York is now the largest tech talent market in the United States, according to CBRE's new "Scoring Tech Talent" report — displacing the San Francisco Bay Area from the top spot for the first time. New York counts about 394,300 tech jobs, the Bay Area roughly 375,730. The report, published August 21, was covered by CNBC and Quartz, among others.
How historic is the shift? CBRE has compiled the analysis for 13 years — and per the report, this is "the first time New York has claimed the top position in the history of CBRE's analysis". The Bay Area had been the undisputed number one of the US tech labor market since the ranking began.
What is driving New York's rise? Above all AI and finance-sector hiring: AI roles now account for roughly one third of all US tech job listings, with AI job growth at about 45 percent year over year. Both metro areas have added more than 20,000 AI positions each since mid-2025 — but New York benefits additionally from Wall Street's massive AI demand and the enterprise customer base concentrated there.
Does this mean the Bay Area is fading? No. In sheer AI engineering density and frontier labs, the Bay Area remains ahead; OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are still headquartered there. The CBRE finding shows instead that AI employment is broadening out — into banks, insurers, retail and media, industries concentrated in New York.
What is the lesson for European hubs? Tech labor markets grow where AI meets deep-pocketed user industries. For cities like Frankfurt, London or Zurich, that is an argument for docking AI talent onto finance and industrial clusters rather than relying on classic startup ecosystems alone.
FAQ
Why is New York overtaking now?
AI hiring in finance, media and enterprise sectors is growing faster than the Bay Area's classic software cluster — and those industries are concentrated in New York.
Is the Bay Area falling behind?
No. It remains the leader in frontier AI research and labs like OpenAI and Anthropic; New York is winning mainly on breadth of application.
What does the trend mean for Europe?
AI jobs increasingly emerge in user industries. Hubs with strong finance and industrial clusters stand to benefit disproportionately.
