New York added 30,640 tech workers in 3 years, surpassing San Francisco as AI hiring surges 

The finding comes from CBRE’s “Scoring Tech Talent 2026” report. New York Metro’s tech-talent workforce grew by 30,640 to 394,300 between 2022 and 2025, while the San Francisco Bay Area’s contracted by 23,900 to 375,730—marking the first time New York has led by headcount in the report’s 13-year history.

The shift reflects New York’s more diversified tech economy. While 61% of San Francisco’s tech talent works directly in high-tech companies, New York’s tech workforce is spread more broadly across industries, including financial services.

Across the U.S. and Canada, the number of tech-talent workers with AI skills rose 45% year over year to 751,000 as of mid-2026. The San Francisco Bay Area still leads in raw AI-specialist numbers and has a higher concentration of AI job postings overall (26%, versus 17% in New York).

But when it comes to financial services specifically, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth tied for the highest concentration of AI-specialty talent among major markets, at 20% each, ahead of Toronto (19%) and Chicago (16%). Financial firms are increasingly competing with technology companies for workers who can put AI into production inside highly regulated businesses.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently said the bank will likely hire more AI specialists. “There will be all different types of jobs, and I think we will be hiring more AI people and fewer bankers in certain categories,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

JPMorgan’s Data & AI organization includes teams working on LLM applications, fraud models, risk systems, personalization and automation.

Big banks—including JPMorgan, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America—are all investing heavily in AI to boost efficiency, and Bank of America is already pointing to measurable returns.

I reported last month that during a media call regarding Bank of America’s second-quarter earnings, CFO Alastair Borthwick said, “New AI capabilities now allow more than 200,000 of our employees to work more effectively, and they’ve helped contribute to producing a 59% efficiency ratio, a roughly 360 basis point improvement from last year.”

Slower hiring and layoffs in the technology industry have also created opportunities for non-tech employers to build their tech-talent teams. CBRE found that financial services, insurance and real estate added 90,530 tech jobs since 2022, while the high-tech sector shed 21,262.

Although New York now leads in tech-talent headcount, San Francisco remains No. 1 in CBRE’s broader tech talent ranking—which incorporates 13 metrics including talent concentration, wages and AI strength, areas where the Bay Area’s smaller, denser workforce still gives it an edge.

Sheryl Estrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Ken Rizvi was appointed SVP and CFO of Qnity Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: Q), a provider of specialized materials for the semiconductor and electronics industries., effective Oct. 1. Michael Goss, who has been serving as interim CFO will assume the role of Qnity’s VP of finance and controllership, at that time. Rizvi brings more than 25 years of financial experience. He most recently served as CFO of Synaptics. Before that, Rizvi served as CFO of Smart Global Holdings (now Penguin Solutions). His experience also includes CFO roles at UTAC Group in Singapore and Isola Group. 

Glen Braganza was appointed CFO of Versapay, an accounts receivable platform. Braganza brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience. He was previously with EasyPark Group (now Arrive) where he served as group CFO. Earlier in his career, Braganza served as the CFO for two venture-backed businesses: Clickatell and BitPay. He also has deep experience in traditional payments, spending 10 years as part of the senior leadership team at Worldpay, most recently as CFO of their U.S. business until 2019.

Big Deal

For the first time, a majority of Americans under 30 (55%) say they’re more concerned than excited about AI’s growing role in daily life, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. That’s a striking reversal: this age group was once the most bullish on AI, but their unease has climbed steadily since 2021 and now matches—or exceeds—concern levels among adults in their 30s, 40s, and even those 65-plus. Only about one-in-ten young adults say they’re more excited than concerned, while roughly a third feel equally split. 

For finance leaders navigating workforce AI adoption, the timing is notable: the same survey found 73% of under-30 adults now believe AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years, up sharply from 61% just two years ago. That puts Gen Z’s job-loss anxiety on par with workers twice their age, which is a signal CFOs may want to factor into how they communicate AI-driven restructuring or upskilling initiatives to younger staff.

Going deeper

Sherry House, CFO of Ford Motor Company, recently swapped her usual Friday agenda and joined the automaker’s finance team for a volunteer shift at Forgotten Harvest. This was part of Ford Finance’s fourth annual Global Day of Service. In a company feature, House opens up about how the outing reflects a bigger philosophy: that hands-on community service builds stronger, more connected teams back at headquarters.

“This year, Ford finance employees took part in 55 volunteer events in 14 countries,” House writes. “In total, 2,250 employees—about 60% of the organization—rolled up their sleeves to participate.

Overheard

“The question for the American C-suite, boardrooms, and Washington is the same one. When the next generation of global software is built, whose models will it be built on?”

—Mark Minevich, a strategic partner at Mayfield in Menlo Park and president of Going Global Ventures in New York, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.