Chapter 1

Which markets have the most Tech Talent specializing in Artificial Intelligence?

Scoring Tech Talent 2026

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Artificial intelligence has become a transformative technology and major source of economic growth and real estate demand.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Boston and Seattle, AI-related companies are rapidly growing and absorbing office space, according to CBRE's 2026 Tech Gateway Office Markets report. AI has the power to automate many tasks, increase productivity and serve as a catalyst for business and workforce growth, much like mobile internet technology was after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

AI software and hardware developers are the most sought-after tech talent by employers. They are supported by a rapidly growing number of data scientists and computer information & systems managers that build foundational data systems for AI model development and deployment.

Across the U.S. and Canada, tech talent workers with AI skills grew by 45% year-over-year to 751,000 as of mid-2026. The San Francisco Bay Area, New York Metro, Seattle and Washington, D.C. are the top U.S. markets for AI-specialty talent, accounting for 37% of the national total (Figure 13). Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are the top Canadian markets with 60% of the country's total AI-specialty talent. The San Francisco Bay Area and New York Metro added the most AI specialists over the past year, each exceeding 20,000. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington, D.C. and Chicago saw increases in such talent of 45% or more.

Figure 13: U.S. & Canada Artificial Intelligence Tech Talent by Market

Note: Based on LinkedIn members that self-reported their occupation as tech talent with artificial intelligence and machine learning skills.
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, CBRE Consulting, June 2026.
AI software and hardware developers currently are the most sought-after tech talent by employers.

The most concentrated AI talent markets—those with the biggest shares of tech talent with AI-specialty skills—were the San Francisco Bay Area (26%), Seattle (20%), Boston (17%), New York Metro (17%), Austin (17%) and Washington, D.C. (13%).

The tech industry employed the largest share of AI-specialty talent in the U.S. and Canada (Figure 14). Seattle (58%), the San Francisco Bay Area (52%) and Denver (36%) had the highest tech industry concentration. Professional & business services and financial services were the next highest industries. Washington, D.C. (31%), Houston (26%), Dallas-Ft. Worth (25%), Chicago (24%) and Atlanta (24%) had the highest professional & business services concentrations. Dallas-Ft. Worth (20%), New York Metro (20%), Toronto (19%) and Chicago (16%) had the highest financial services concentrations.

Figure 14: U.S. & Canada Artificial Intelligence Tech Talent by Industry

Note: Based on LinkedIn members that self-reported their occupation as tech talent with artificial intelligence and machine learning skills.
Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights, CBRE Consulting, June 2026.

The presence of universities with established AI programs, major tech companies developing AI and available venture capital funding are indicators of a market's growth potential for AI talent. The San Francisco Bay Area dominates for these indicators, attracting 80% of U.S. AI venture capital funding since 2020, most of the country’s largest start-up AI companies and two of the top five university AI programs, according to U.S. News & World Report (Figure 15). Seattle, New York Metro, Boston, Los Angeles and Toronto also scored highly for these growth indicators.

Existing tech talent workforces are rapidly upskilling to include AI development capabilities as companies across all industries deploy this new technology. Thus, AI-skilled tech talent will remain in high demand.

Figure 15: Top U.S. & Canadian Universities by AI Program & Share of Computer Science Graduates

Source: U.S. News and World Report, May 2026.

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Chapter 2 What defines a Tech Talent market?
Overview