The United States has the most advanced software, information technology (IT) services, and artificial intelligence (AI) industry in the world. More than 40% of the $6.07 trillion global IT market is centered in North America, with the vast majority driven by the United States. In the U.S., net tech employment encompasses nearly 9.8 million tech workers, stabilized by an industrial pivot toward machine learning, data engineering, and generative AI infrastructure. Forecasts project a net add of roughly 185,500 new tech jobs across the national workforce this year alone.
The tech industry directly accounts for roughly 10% of the U.S. economy, seeing unprecedented capital cycles as a massive multi-hundred billion dollar infrastructure wave alters the country's business investment. In 2026, capital expenditures and R&D heavily prioritize frontier models, with the four Big Tech "hyperscalers" alone steering $635 billion to $665 billion toward AI systems, chips, massive cloud infrastructure, and data center scaling.
California hosts roughly 1.5 million of these workers, retaining its title as the largest tech workforce in the country. Silicon Valley remains the premiere command center for the global AI landscape, housing pioneering giants like Meta, Netflix, Apple, and Google, alongside critical startup clusters.
Although Silicon Valley has held the crown for decades, other major metropolitan areas have heavily shifted into massive computing and AI software hubs. New York City boasts a sprawling tech workforce that continues to rival California's volume, anchored by continuous urban campus footprint expansions from major tech enterprises.
Other dominant destinations transforming the technological footprint include Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle in North Carolina, where cloud and enterprise software leases heavily occupy local real estate. Cities experiencing an immense influx of specialized hardware and AI development firms include Austin, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, alongside a rising engineering presence in Denver, Colorado.
The states wielding the most profound economic impact from technology are California, Texas, New York, and Washington. Furthermore, high-growth states projected to see the sharpest rates of tech occupation gains over the coming years include Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Texas. Moving through mid-2026, the leading industry sectors are heavily concentrated in IT custom software, AI research and engineering, cybersecurity systems, and data infrastructure services.
