New York has surpassed the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time as the US metropolitan area with the largest technology talent workforce, according to a new report from real estate and investment firm CBRE.
The shift comes as the Bay Area continues to feel the impact of widespread layoffs across the technology sector, while New York has expanded its pool of highly skilled technology workers, particularly in financial services and artificial intelligence.
According to CBRE’s latest annual analysis, New York’s metropolitan area had around 394,300 tech talent workers last year, compared with 375,730 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The report marks the first time New York has taken the top spot in terms of the size of its tech workforce.
The Bay Area’s tech talent workforce fell by about 6% between 2022 and 2025, while New York recorded growth of more than 8% over the same period.
AI boom spreading beyond Silicon Valley
CBRE defines tech talent as highly skilled employees working in more than 20 technology-related occupations. These workers are not limited to technology companies and are also employed in sectors including healthcare, financial services and government.
The changing rankings highlight a broader shift in the US technology labor market. As major Silicon Valley companies continue to reduce headcount while redirecting investment toward AI, technology workers are increasingly finding opportunities outside the traditional tech hubs.
Meta, Amazon and Block are among the companies that have announced workforce reductions as they restructure their businesses around artificial intelligence.
Despite the Bay Area’s decline in tech employment, CBRE does not expect Silicon Valley to lose its central role in the AI industry.
“The Bay Area is likely to remain the central location for the AI industry and for innovation,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center. He added that previous technology cycles showed how growth in the sector eventually spreads to other major markets.
Financial sector boosts New York
New York’s growing technology workforce has been supported in part by the financial services industry, which was among the earlier sectors to adopt artificial intelligence, according to Lauren Crowley Corrinet, vice chairman of CBRE’s Consulting Group in New York.
The city has also seen an increase in AI startups, particularly in Midtown South and other technology-oriented areas.
New York’s extensive public transportation network is another factor making the city attractive to both companies and employees. Its large-scale economy also allows technology businesses to expand rapidly once they gain a foothold.
“The sheer scale of the market supports both early-stage growth and the ability to scale quickly,” Corrinet said.
Other US cities continue to expand
The growth of tech employment is not limited to New York. In California, Sacramento’s tech talent workforce increased by more than 8% between 2022 and 2025, reaching approximately 42,970 workers.
Los Angeles and Orange County together had around 227,350 tech workers last year, although that figure was less than 1% higher than in 2022.
Other major technology talent markets include Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Dallas-Fort Worth.
However, the size of the workforce is only one factor in CBRE’s ranking. The company also evaluates indicators such as average salaries, housing costs and the number of technology graduates.
On that broader scorecard, the San Francisco Bay Area remains in first place, while New York ranks fourth. Los Angeles is 18th.
AI raises concerns over future employment
The decline in the Bay Area’s technology workforce comes amid growing concerns among workers that artificial intelligence could reduce the number of available jobs.
A Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday found that around 71% of US adults believe AI will lead to fewer jobs in the country over the next 20 years, up from 64% in 2024.
Technology executives have offered a more optimistic view, although some have acknowledged that AI could allow companies to operate with smaller workforces. At the same time, the technology could create entirely new categories of employment.
CBRE says US high-tech companies continue to recruit for AI-related positions, including data scientists and hardware engineers. The key question, however, is whether new hiring will ultimately outpace the job cuts being driven by restructuring and automation.
Yasukochi remains optimistic about the longer-term outlook.
His expectation, he said, is that technology-related jobs will continue to expand as companies across the economy work out how best to integrate AI into their operations.
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