New York became the largest tech talent market in the U.S. in 2025, with a workforce of 394,300 tech workers, surpassing the San Francisco Bay Area's 375,730 after 13 years of trailing behind [1, 2, 3]. Between 2022 and 2025, New York added 30,640 tech jobs while the Bay Area lost 23,900, a 6% decline driven by layoffs in the local tech industry [1, 3].
Despite New York's lead in total tech talent numbers, the San Francisco Bay Area continues to rank highest in overall tech talent market competitiveness based on 13 weighted indicators [1, 3]. Colin Yasukochi, CBRE executive director, said, "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" [2].
The growth in New York’s tech workforce has been supported by early adoption of AI in its financial services sector, said Lauren Crowley Corrinet, CBRE New York vice-chair: "金融服務業很早就開始採用AI，因此紐約在這個產業上增加了不少科技工作者。紐約市場規模龐大，足以支持企業早期成長，讓它們有能力迅速擴大。" [3]
AI-related tech roles are expanding rapidly across the U.S. and Canada. By mid-2026, 751,000 workers held AI-skilled tech positions, a 45% increase over the previous year, accounting for 31% of U.S. tech job openings [1, 2, 3]. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the share of AI-related tech jobs surged from 20% to 57%, while non-AI tech job openings dropped by 73% [1, 3]. Yasukochi noted, "舊金山灣區很可能仍是AI產業與創新的核心地區。不過，過去幾輪產業週期顯示，隨著產業成長，相關發展往往會擴散到各個主要市場。" [1]
The top six tech talent markets by competitiveness remain unchanged from last year. They are San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, New York, Austin, and Washington DC [1, 3].
The next major benchmark is expected in 2026 when updated reports will further assess AI talent growth and overall tech market shifts across North America.
