AI BOOM PRICES OUT SIX-FIGURE EARNERS FROM SF

The city's red-hot AI sector is reshaping the housing market faster than wages can follow. Even high-earning tech workers are being priced out as demand from well-funded startups and established companies accelerates competition for limited housing stock. Pending IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic could further intensify the pressure. The potential public offerings are expected to create new wealth among AI sector insiders, likely pushing prices even higher. The crisis highlights a widening gap between those profiting directly from the AI boom and everyone else in San Francisco. Workers outside the highest-paying roles face even steeper affordability challenges, with many relocating to nearby areas or leaving the Bay Area entirely. Housing advocates warn the current trajectory is unsustainable and threatens to hollow out the city's workforce, including mid-level professionals and essential service workers already struggling with affordability.