Which US cities are losing tech talent and which are gaining it?
One question, asked of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity in September 2026. Here is each answer, word for word, with the sources it cited.
US hubs · Where to hire · A senior engineer weighing an offer
ChatGPT
The U.S. tech talent map has been shifting away from a few dominant coastal hubs toward a broader set of cities. The pattern is not simply “Silicon Valley is dying”: many traditional hubs are still strong, but some are losing net talent while newer hubs are attracting engineers, AI specialists, and startup workers.
The Burning Glass Institute
+1
4
Cities that have been losing tech talent (relative to their past position)
City/Metro Trend Why
San Francisco Bay Area Declining from its peak High housing costs, layoffs, remote-work shifts, and some workers relocating to cheaper hubs. The Bay Area remains the deepest tech ecosystem, especially for AI, but its tech workforce has contracted in recent years.
San Francisco Chronicle
+1
Seattle Slower growth / some outflow Still a major tech center, but cost pressures and big-tech restructuring have reduced its advantage versus emerging hubs.
Karat
Boston More mixed Strong biotech, AI, and universities keep it competitive, but some workers have moved toward lower-cost metros.
Heartland Forward
Los Angeles Mixed to weaker tech migration Strong entertainment tech, aerospace, and startups, but expensive housing and competition from other hubs have slowed gains.
Heartland Forward
Portland Losing some momentum Once a major destination for West Coast tech workers; growth has slowed as Austin, Denver, Raleigh, and others captured more migration.
Cushman & Wakefield Assets
Cities gaining tech talent
City/Metro Trend Why
Austin, TX Major…
Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.
Named: San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, Raleigh-Durham, Washington, D.C., New York City, Dallas, Nashville, Huntsville
Sources cited: burningglassinstitute.org, sfchronicle.com, karat.com, heartlandforward.org, assets.cushmanwakefield.com, nypost.com, talenbrium.com, chron.com, axios.com, cbre.com
Claude
Here's what the data shows in 2026:
Losing tech talent (multi-year exodus):
San Francisco Bay Area — for the third year in a row, San Francisco saw a decline in concentration of elite software engineering candidates, now at 39%. That said, it still reigns supreme as the top spot for tech and AI, drawing 80% of U.S. AI venture funding since 2020 — so it's shedding rank-and-file talent even while staying the center of gravity for AI investment.
Karat
Inc
Seattle — concentration of elite engineering candidates dropped to 35%, and Seattle fell from 3rd to 7th globally. Microsoft plans to vacate all of its Bellevue offices by 2028, and Amazon's return-to-office policy is also cited as a pressure pushing people out.
Karat
New York — grouped with SF and Seattle as one of the three traditional strongholds now seeing talent drift elsewhere, per the Karat migration report.
Gaining tech talent:
Washington, D.C. — the standout: Washington replaced the San Francisco Bay Area as the top destination for elite software engineers in this year's report.
Karat
Austin — shows up in nearly every list as a top beneficiary, with tech now 13% of Austin's workforce, contributing $51.2 billion to the local economy, and net tech employment growing 4.4%.
Foothold America
San Antonio, Raleigh, Phoenix, Nashville — San Antonio leads at 5.1% annual tech job growth, followed by Raleigh (4.7%), Phoenix (4.6%), Austin (4.4%), and Nashville (4.3%), per CompTIA data.
Foothold America
Denver — noted for…
Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.
Named: San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York City, Washington, D.C., Austin, Raleigh-Durham, Phoenix, Nashville, Denver, Atlanta, Miami
Sources cited: karat.com, inc.com, footholdamerica.com, adriasolutions.co.uk, 92q.com
Gemini
The landscape of American tech talent relies heavily on CBRE's annual market reports and venture capital tracking:
US Metros Losing Tech Talent (or Contracting)
San Francisco Bay Area: While remaining the leading market overall by density and AI investment, the Bay Area lost roughly 23,900 tech jobs between 2022 and 2025 due to tech-sector corporate restructuring. New York Metro officially passed the Bay Area as the largest total tech workforce.
Mortgage Professional America
Washington, D.C.: Classified as one of the top "net tech graduate" markets, D.C. produces and graduates more tech talent than its local industry currently absorbs, leading to net job loss and labor out-migration.
CBRE
Austin, Texas: After experiencing massive pandemic-era influxes, Austin has cooled considerably. VC-backed startups in the region saw notable headcount declines as remote-work trends shifted and companies consolidated talent back into legacy hubs or lifestyle alternatives.
SignalFire
US Metros Gaining Tech Talent
New York Metro Area: Gained over 30,600 tech workers between 2022 and 2025. Driven heavily by Wall Street and the finance/real estate sectors expanding into AI and data science, New York is now the largest tech market in the country by headcount.
Mortgage Professional America
Seattle: Seattle added 24,590 tech jobs between 2022 and 2025 (a 13.1% increase). Its high density of AI-specialized talent and enterprise software giants continues to draw mid-career engineers.…
Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.
Named: San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Washington, D.C., Austin, Seattle, Dallas, Nashville, Miami, San Diego
Sources cited: youtube.com
Perplexity
The short answer: the Bay Area and Seattle have been the clearest recent losers in net tech-worker growth, while New York, Dallas–Fort Worth, Nashville, Jacksonville, Miami, San Diego, and—depending on the measure—Washington, D.C. have gained. The pattern is not a simple “tech leaves the coasts” story: New York and the Bay Area remain huge AI hubs, even as the Bay Area’s overall tech workforce has contracted.
cbre
Gaining cities
City/metro Evidence of gain Important context
New York metro Added 30,640 tech workers from 2022–25, reaching 394,300 and becoming the largest North American tech-talent market in CBRE’s count. Its growth is supported by financial-services hiring and a major AI talent base.
cbre
Dallas–Fort Worth Added 37,230 tech workers from 2022–25; tech employment grew 19%, one of the strongest U.S. large-market growth rates. It is among CBRE’s small set of net tech-job-creation markets.
cbre
Nashville Tech workforce grew 34% from 2022–25 and its overall CBRE market rank rose six places. Rapid percentage growth comes from a smaller base than New York or Dallas.
cbre
Jacksonville Tech workforce grew 23% from 2022–25; CBRE ranked it among the biggest improvers. A smaller, emerging market rather than a replacement for a major tech hub.
cbre
Washington, D.C. Karat found a 41% year-over-year increase in its pool of “elite” software engineers, making it its top U.S. destination in 2025. This measures interview-candidate concentration/migration, not necessarily…
Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.
Named: San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York City, Dallas, Nashville, Miami, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Austin, Houston
Published by PursueATL. Research by Resonate Labs. Data collected September 2026.