New York has overtaken the San Francisco Bay Area as the largest market for tech talent in the United States, driven in part by rapid growth in artificial intelligence jobs, according to a new report from CBRE.

New York has 394,300 tech talent jobs, compared with 375,730 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The report, which examines 75 metropolitan markets across the US and Canada, marks the first time New York has taken the top position in the 13 years of CBRE’s analysis.

The shift has been driven by changes in both markets. While the Bay Area has experienced cuts across the technology industry, New York’s financial sector has continued hiring technology professionals and AI workers.

AI-related employment is growing rapidly across both countries. CBRE found that AI tech roles increased by 45% over the past year, with New York and San Francisco each adding more than 20,000 AI-specific jobs since mid-2025.

As of June, around 751,000 AI-related workers were employed across the US and Canada. AI roles now represent nearly one-third of all technology job listings in the United States.

Despite losing its overall tech talent lead, San Francisco remains the leading US market for AI jobs specifically. New York, Seattle and Washington are also among the major centres for AI employment, with the four markets accounting for 37% of US AI jobs.

In Canada, AI employment is more concentrated, with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver accounting for around 60% of the country’s AI-related jobs. Growing demand for AI workers is also contributing to increased office leasing activity in major technology markets.