Karat

AI is reshaping where elite engineering talent is concentrated, and it's amplifying the impact of top engineers — which puts a premium on salaries in AI innovation hubs. ‼️

Download the full 2026 Top Cities report for more insights https://karat.com/resource/top-cities-to-hire-engineers/

Bay Area Coders Strike Gold With $272K Median Pay Bay Area software engineers now pull a median $272K a year, per Karat.

Can you guess the No.1 top city for top engineering talent in the world?📍

Seattle, Washington, has claimed the top spot, ranking #1 globally with 38.2% of engineers estimated to be in the top quartile among global candidates.

Seattle’s leadership in engineering quality reflects the region’s deep concentrations of cloud infrastructure expertise, AI platform development, and advanced product engineering, ushering in the human + AI era.

Read our latest blog to learn why Seattle is the top city for software engineering talent in 2026:

Why Seattle is the top city for software engineering talent in 2026 Read more about why Seattle beat out all other U.S. cities in elite engineering talent and some of the hiring challenges companies might face.

For the past couple of years, software have been dispersing across the globe. More remote work, lower costs, and distributed teams meant that organizations and top talent were fleeing coastal tech hubs.

👉 Today, there’s a new reality. Data from our 2026 Top Cities report shows just how much has changed.

Engineering talent is re-concentrating in high-density hubs, and AI-driven cities are re-shaping how companies typically hire.

🔗 Our latest blog breaks down three key trends shaping this shift + the top 20 U.S. cities for engineering talent: https://karat.com/the-top-u-s-cities-for-engineering-talent-in-2026/

ICYMI: Our 2026 Top Cities rankings for engineering talent are live! 📍

This year's rankings help leaders track the evolution of global talent markets + pinpoint where the highest concentrations of top talent are located worldwide.

Curious if your city made the list?

Swipe to discover the top ten cities with the highest concentrations of top-performing candidates in the era. ⬇️

As continues to reshape the hiring landscape, one shift is becoming increasingly clear: domain expertise is rising in value.

Our CEO and Co-Founder, Mohit Bhende, recently joined leading experts on a panel to discuss this evolution, sharing that “the generalist era is ending.”

The real differentiator? Engineers who deeply understand the industries they’re building for.

Read the full breakdown.👇

The AI Workforce Reckoning: What’s Actually Changing Inside Companies - Qwoted Six experts across economics, leadership, hiring, and workplace psychology unpack what’s really happening with AI & the workforce right now.

Karat’s 2026 Top Cities rankings for engineering talent are live!

Karat ranked the top 40 cities with the highest concentrations of top-performing interview candidates. The report also covers labor costs based on median salaries, and details about the size and composition of each city's talent pool.

Here’s the reality: is widening the gap between top-performing engineers and the rest, making access to elite talent more critical than ever.

Stop guessing where to focus your technical hiring efforts; let the data guide your strategy. Dive into the full report to explore where top talent is concentrated globally.

Check out the interactive landing page and download the full report: https://karat.com/resource/top-cities-to-hire-engineers/