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

AI workers are flocking to these cities for jobs -- and boosting...

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