San Francisco Bay Area Ranks #1 in CBRE’s Annual ‘Scoring Tech Talent’ Report

The San Francisco Bay Area was the top market in CBRE’s 2023 Scoring Tech Talent report for the 10th consecutive year. Even as the tech sector’s resilience was tested in 2022, the region continues to lead with the largest tech talent labor pool and highest number of tech roles of any U.S. market.

The San Francisco Bay Area added 75,020 tech talent jobs between 2017 and 2022, a 23% increase. The region also employs the most tech roles of any market (407,810), which makes up 11.6% of total Bay Area employment and is more than double the 50-market average of 5.6%.

“Many Bay Area tech employers slowed hiring and made staff reductions, but most layoffs are affecting non-tech roles like marketing, finance and recruiting, so many companies continue to hold on to their engineering talent. However, we are seeing new start-up companies emerge; a potential sign that we are entering a new cycle. Recruiting and retaining tech talent remains a priority for many companies, in addition to creating an attractive office experience for employees,” said Chris Shepherd, Executive Vice President in CBRE’s Tech and Media Practice.

CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report covers 75 North American markets, ranks the top 50 tech markets in the U.S. and Canada, and outlines tech talent labor market trends amid economic shifts and increased remote hiring. Overall, the U.S. and Canada added a net 760,000 tech talent jobs since 2020. The number of U.S. tech talent workers increased 7.3% from May 2021 to May 2022, which exceeded the 5% growth in total U.S. employment in May 2022.

Software developers and programmers across all industries accounted for more than half of the new tech talent employment. The Bay Area’ tech industry employed 76.6% of the region’s software engineers, the highest concentration in the U.S. as of 2021.

“The labor market for tech talent is still very competitive, even amid a slower economy and layoffs. However, it has loosened enough to create hiring opportunities for non-tech companies,” said Colin Yasukochi, Executive Director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center in San Francisco. “As tech talent gets redistributed across other industries, our economy becomes more digital and that could spur new growth for tech professions. Artificial intelligence has seen a surge in venture capital funding, a positive indicator for the future growth of tech.”

For the first time this year, CBRE’s report examines tech talent wages paid by tech companies based on geography. In 2021, the San Francisco Bay Area had the highest average wages ($185,425), followed by Seattle ($172,009) and Boston ($121,794).

The San Francisco Bay Area stood out in the report in several other key areas:

• San Francisco Bay Area’s tech talent workforce of 407,810 grew by 23% from 2017 to 2022. That’s the largest numerical gain (75,020) and 16th largest percentage gain among large tech talent markets.
• It has the fifth highest total (9,967) of tech degree graduates and the second highest share of people 25 years and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher (52.4%) behind only Washington, D.C. The number of tech-related degrees granted in the U.S. grew by 60,000 between 2017 and 2021. 
• It creates more tech jobs (61,110 from 2017 to 2021) than tech graduates (50,739 from 2018 to 2022).
• The San Francisco Bay Area’s total population of people in their 30s with college degrees increased by 11.4% from 2016-2021.
• The San Francisco Bay Area is the most expensive market to operate a 500-person company occupying 60,000 sq. ft. of office space.  The average one-year operating cost is an estimated $78.8 million.

CBRE also ranks the Next 25 emerging tech markets on a narrower set of criteria. Tech talent is defined as 20 key tech professions – such as software engineers and systems and data managers – across all industries. To download the full report, click here.

Additionally, CBRE’s latest tech talent analyzer provides an interactive, in-depth comparison of tech talent in different markets. For more information, click here.