Key facts
- Chicago ranks third nationally for year-over-year growth in AI-related job postings.
- AI job postings in Chicago surged 80.6% from 2024 to 2025.
- AI firms occupy 308,000 square feet of office space in Chicago.
- Demand for AI skills spans across technology, finance, medical, and education sectors.
- AI hiring growth is not currently directly translating into increased office leasing trends.
Chicago is experiencing a notable surge in artificial intelligence-related job growth, positioning it as the third-largest market nationally for such increases, trailing only New York City and San Francisco. This trend, with nearly 10,000 AI job postings, is seen as a potential boon for the city's office market.
Nationally, AI companies have expanded their office footprints to 9.2 million square feet, with Chicago contributing 308,000 square feet by mid-year. The demand for AI talent extends beyond traditional tech roles, encompassing skills in large language models, AI platforms, and agent deployment across diverse industries like finance, healthcare, and education. Avison Young senior analyst Sean Boyd noted that these jobs are boosting the local need for AI expertise.
Building tours by AI-focused prospective tenants have increased significantly nationwide, and Chicago shows promising signs of this growth. Companies like Turing, the University of Chicago, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Accenture have seen substantial year-over-year increases in AI-related job postings, with Turing leading by a wide margin. The surge in AI job postings in Chicago has already surpassed last year's total halfway through the current year.
While office-using employment has grown consistently in Chicago, mirroring national trends, the direct impact of AI hiring on current leasing trends remains uncertain. Analysts suggest that unlike previous tech booms, the current AI-driven hiring may not immediately translate into a significant uptick in office demand, indicating that the long-term effects are yet to be determined.