Wall Street is aggressively recruiting AI professionals: New York's tech talent count surpasses San Francisco for the first time.

According to media reports, New York has surpassed the San Francisco Bay Area in the number of tech talent, becoming the largest tech talent hub in North America.

Wall Street's growing demand for AI talent is reshaping this market landscape, although San Francisco has not entirely lost its leading position.

The conclusion comes from CBRE's "2026 Tech Talent Assessment Report."

Between 2022 and 2025, the New York metropolitan area added 30,640 tech workers, bringing its total to 394,300, while the San Francisco Bay Area saw a decline of 23,900 tech workers, dropping to 375,730.

This marks the first time in the 13-year history of the report that New York has ranked first in tech talent numbers.

As of mid-2026, the number of tech workers with AI skills in the U.S. and Canada grew 45% year-over-year, reaching 751,000. The San Francisco Bay Area still leads in the absolute number of AI specialists, with AI-related job postings accounting for a higher share at 26%, compared to New York's 17%.

In the financial services sector, however, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth are tied for first place among major city markets in AI specialist concentration, both at 20%, ahead of Toronto's 19% and Chicago's 16%.

Financial firms are competing with tech companies for talent capable of deploying AI in real-world applications within tightly regulated business environments.

The slowdown in tech industry hiring and reduced layoffs have also given non-tech employers an opportunity to build tech talent teams.

According to CBRE data, since 2022, the financial services, insurance, and real estate sectors have added 90,530 tech positions, while the high-tech industry has shed 21,262 roles.