Rebound: The Bay Area Economy in 2026 (Bay Area Council Economic Institute)

Summary

• Of the 50 largest U.S. companies by capitalization, 17 are local, including 5 in the top 10.p.1
• The region is home to 127 unicorns, compared to 50 in New York.p.1
• Last year, 75% of U.S. AI funding and 60% of the world's AI funding went to Bay Area companies.p.2
• In the last quarter of 2025, Bay Area companies received 65% of total U.S. VC investment.p.2
• AI companies now occupy 6 million square feet of office space in San Francisco, a number CBRE believes could reach 21 million.p.2
• In the latest CityBeat Poll, 64% of respondents believed San Francisco was headed in the right direction, up from 43% the prior year.p.2

Key insights

1. Unemployment of 4.4% is comparable to the nation's, but employment is still 5.4% below its 2019 level.p.1
2. San Francisco's commercial vacancy rate, though falling, remains high at 33.1%.p.1
3. Bay Area companies lead among private $5 billion companies in the U.S., with 57 headquartered in the region compared to 16 in New York.p.2
4. AI job postings grew 72%.p.2
5. Remote job postings have dropped to 10% from 20% three years ago.p.2
6. AI's growth in San Francisco has spread to Silicon Valley, with large expansions by Databricks, OpenAI and xAI.p.2