517K AI workers drive rent spikes in Seattle, San Francisco and more

The artificial intelligence job boom is driving up rents in major tech hubs across the US and Canada, as more than 517,000 AI-skilled workers compete for housing in already expensive markets. This surge in high-paid tech talent is creating a double squeeze on housing costs, with AI professionals able to afford premium rents while pricing out other residents in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle.

The big picture: AI worker populations have exploded by more than 50% in the past year, with growth concentrated in cities that were already struggling with housing affordability before the AI revolution began.

Key rent increases: Major tech hubs have seen substantial rent growth between 2021 and 2024 as AI workers flood the market.

• Manhattan rents jumped more than 14% during this period.
• Washington DC saw increases of more than 12%.
• Seattle experienced rent growth of more than 7%.
• San Francisco rents climbed nearly 6%.

Where the workers are going: New York City alone gained about 20,000 AI-skilled workers over the past year, while other major hubs logged even more dramatic percentage increases.

• Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto, and Washington each recorded increases of 75% or more in AI workers.
• The San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Seattle, Toronto, and DC remain the primary talent magnets.

Why AI workers can afford these rents: High salaries in artificial intelligence allow these professionals to shoulder housing costs that squeeze out other residents.

• Manhattan AI professionals spend about 29% of their income on housing, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services company.
• In San Francisco and Washington DC, that share drops closer to 19%.
• This affordability for AI workers is adding pressure on everyone else in these markets.

Office demand rebounds: Unlike other tech sectors that embraced remote work, AI companies are filling office towers and demanding in-person collaboration.

• In San Francisco, 1 out of every 4 square feet leased over the past two and a half years went to an AI tenant.
• Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, notes that AI firms have returned to “the earlier days of tech innovation, where they’re in the office five, six days a week and for long hours.”

What they’re saying: “With this AI revolution, it’s been a fundamental game changer for the city of San Francisco, because that’s really ground zero for the AI revolution and where most of these major high-profile firms like OpenAI are located,” Yasukochi told CNBC.