Seattle ranks No. 3 nationally in AI industry growth according to a new study that measures employment, salaries, job concentration and more in metropolitan areas across the U.S.
The new report from CoworkingCafe puts Seattle behind San Jose, Calif., (Silicon Valley) and New York City. San Francisco and Dallas round out the top five.
“Seattle strikes a balance between Silicon Valley’s intensity and New York’s breadth,” the report notes. With 12,726 AI job postings between November 2024 and November 2025, AI roles are nearly three times as common in the Seattle area as they are nationwide.
Average AI pay reaches $169,633 in the Seattle area, according to CoworkingCafe. However, “rising expenses have become a constraint and local living costs sit well above the national average,” with Seattle among the most expensive large metros.
By comparison, AI job pay in San Jose averages almost $216,000 — the highest of any metro studied — and in New York it’s $151,000.
Whether the momentum continues in Seattle remains to be seen, at least for some tech leaders, who have been warning that the passage of a new state “millionaires tax” could stall the region’s AI growth.
The study, which measured 300 cities, focused on AI-native technical roles, including software developers, data scientists, computer systems analysts, QA testers and related engineering positions.
The study also compared broadband readiness and co-working infrastructure, which CoworkingCafe considers a necessity for keeping connected and productive. Seattle is home to 145 co-working spaces.
Among smaller-market AI growth, Fayetteville, Ark., and Boulder, Colo. topped the rankings for mid-size and small-size metros, respectively.
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