New York’s office market has claimed the leading position for tech employment for the first time in the 13-year history of CBRE’s analysis. The shift reflects New York’s tech workforce of 394,300 positions compared to San Francisco Bay Area’s 375,730 positions across the two major hubs.
The displacement of San Francisco from the top spot follows significant job losses in the Bay Area’s tech sector in recent years. However, San Francisco retains its dominance in artificial intelligence roles specifically. Both markets have experienced substantial growth in AI employment, with each adding more than 20,000 AI-specific jobs since mid-2025. Across the United States and Canada combined, AI tech roles expanded by 45% over the past year, with 751,000 workers now employed in AI-related positions. New York’s strength stems partly from the financial sector’s aggressive hiring of tech and AI talent.
AI employment represents a significant share of overall tech hiring activity, now accounting for nearly one-third of all tech-talent job listings in the U.S. At the regional level, 37% of AI jobs across the U.S. are concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Seattle, and Washington. In Canada, the concentration is more pronounced, with 60% of AI jobs located in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
The growth in AI positions has measurable effects on commercial real estate markets, particularly office leasing. In San Francisco, AI companies accounted for 58% of all office leasing activity in the first half of this year and have represented 30% of leasing transactions totaling approximately 10 million square feet since 2023. Beyond San Francisco, concentrated AI leasing activity is also observed in Manhattan, Boston, and Seattle.
Unlike general tech sector trends that shifted toward remote work following the pandemic, AI operations have maintained stronger office-centric cultures. Industry participants report that AI teams typically work in-office settings four to six days per week, supporting innovation and collaborative processes. Concerns that AI deployment would significantly reduce workforce requirements and office space demand have not materialized in the near term, as the technology tends to reshape job categories and generate new positions rather than eliminate existing roles.
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