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A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
AI is impacting everything, so it should come as no surprise that demand for AI-specific tech talent in certain cities is fueling real estate demand in office, residential and even retail.
Across the U.S. and Canada, the pool of tech workers with AI skills grew by more than 50% from mid-2024 to mid-2025 to 517,000 workers, according to a CBRE analysis of LinkedIn data. That talent is concentrated most in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C. The top three account for 35% of the national total.
Looking just at growth, the New York metropolitan area added the most AI tech talent over the past year by absolute numbers (with 20,000 new AI-skilled workers). Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto and Washington, D.C., each saw 75% year-over-year gains in these workers — or more.
