The surge of interest in artificial intelligence is reshaping the geography of tech employment—and that shift is starting to matter for commercial real estate. As more companies redeploy their existing workforces to focus on AI, markets that can attract and retain tech talent are becoming increasingly competitive, according to CBRE.
The brokerage reported a dramatic repositioning of workers as demand for both traditional AI expertise and newer generative AI skills accelerates. That wave of hiring helped drive a 50 percent year-over-year increase in the number of tech talent workers with AI skills.
Tech labor is not confined to the technology sector alone. CBRE said the broadest share of tech employment remains concentrated in high tech companies—38.5 percent of the total as of 2024—but other industries also account for significant portions: professional, scientific, and technical services (12.1 percent); finance, insurance, and real estate (9.3 percent); management of companies and enterprises (7.2 percent); and government (5.7 percent). Smaller but still meaningful shares are spread across transportation and warehousing (5.1 percent), education (4.5 percent), manufacturing (3.3 percent), information (2.8 percent), healthcare (2.8 percent), and an “other” category tallying 8.7 percent.
To determine where this talent is clustering, CBRE ranked U.S. markets by factors such as total size of the tech talent pool, growth from 2021 to 2024, employment concentration, and average annual wages. The results highlight both powerhouse hubs and regions still emerging as destinations for AI-driven hiring.
The San Francisco Bay Area continues to dominate large tech talent markets, with 405,330 workers, a 10 percent increase since 2021, and an average annual wage of $215,072. The New York metro follows closely with 385,790 workers, a 14.2 percent increase over the same period and average wages of $130,209. Washington, D.C. holds steady with 255,120 workers, while Los Angeles–Orange County (229,430) and Dallas–Fort Worth (227,220) round out the top five. Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and Denver complete the roster of the 10 largest markets, each employing more than 100,000 tech workers with varying concentrations and wage levels.
Smaller markets show a more uneven picture. St. Louis ranked first on CBRE’s list of small tech markets with 48,010 workers, but its headcount has slipped 2.3 percent since 2021. Kansas City followed closely with 47,910 workers, growing 9.1 percent, while Sacramento, Columbus, and Nashville rounded out the next tier. Notably, Nashville reported one of the strongest gains at 29 percent growth, while Columbus showed one of the steepest declines, falling 18.2 percent. Other small markets recording talent losses included Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.
Out of the 20 smaller markets CBRE analyzed, nine experienced overall declines in tech employment. Analysts suggested that with average wages diverging significantly—ranging from more than $106,000 in Sacramento to just under $75,000 in Cleveland—tech workers may be gravitating toward markets offering stronger pay or better long-term prospects.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.