- D-FW’s AI usage rate hit 26% in July, up from 20% in January, outpacing the national average and the three largest U.S. metros, per a new WeWork analysis of Census data.
- Large firms adopted AI far faster than small ones, with 39% of the biggest companies using the technology in July compared with just 21% of the smallest firms nationally.
- D-FW’s rising AI usage reinforces its tech-hub status, following separate CompTIA and CBRE rankings citing nearly 11,000 tech job postings and strong data-center growth in the region.
More than a quarter of North Texas businesses were using artificial intelligence in July, outpacing New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, according to a recent WeWork analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Dallas-Fort Worth’s 26% adoption rate climbed from just over 20% in January and now sits above the 22% national average, the Dallas Morning News reported.
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A Divide Between Big and Small
The report reiterated a pattern seen across the broader economy: AI adoption is concentrated among large firms and specific industries, while smaller businesses have been slower to embrace the technology. Nationally, 39% of the largest companies reported using AI in July, compared with just 21% of the smallest firms.
“For all its revolutionizing potential, AI is still a relatively new technology that continues to advance unevenly and at an unpredictable pace,” WeWork’s report noted. Even so, D-FW’s usage curve is trending upward, with 29% of respondents saying they expect to adopt the technology within six months.
The Details
WeWork built its findings on the Census Bureau’s Business Trends and Outlook Survey, which polls more than 1 million businesses nationwide on whether they used AI in the prior two weeks. D-FW’s 26% July rate compared with roughly 18% in greater New York, 20% in greater Los Angeles, and 22% in greater Chicago.
The region’s usage landed on par with Miami’s, while Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston posted slightly higher rates than D-FW. Phoenix, Portland, and St. Louis all trailed North Texas, alongside New York and LA.
Zooming Out
The findings add to a string of reports pointing to D-FW’s rise as a tech hub. A separate CompTIA analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found nearly 11,000 tech-related job postings in the region this summer, the third-highest total among U.S. metros. CBRE, meanwhile, ranked D-FW the eighth-best North American market for tech talent, trailing only Austin among Texas metros and outranking Vancouver, Denver, and greater LA.
That momentum echoes gains elsewhere in commercial real estate’s tech-driven segments, including tech office leasing that has surged in other major markets as AI-focused firms expand their footprints.
Why It Matters
D-FW’s tech-driven growth carries direct implications for commercial real estate, from data center demand to office absorption in innovation corridors. The region already ranks among the world’s top markets for the data centers powering the AI boom, and CompTIA’s Seth Robinson noted the resulting jobs are “popping up in a wide variety of industries,” not just traditional tech.
AI’s reach is also extending into how CRE itself operates. A separate industry study found AI could drive construction cost cuts of up to 20%, evidence the technology is moving from back-office adoption into core project economics across the industry.
What’s Next
A broader Dallas Fed survey of more than 300 Texas executives, conducted this spring, found an even higher AI usage rate: roughly two-thirds of Texas businesses already deploying the technology to some degree, with early signs of productivity gains and, in some cases, reduced hiring needs.
“Is it replacing or enhancing workers?” Dallas Fed economist Emily Kerr asked. “That’s the big, open question, and the answer continues to be both.” Whether that balance tips further will shape how AI reshapes North Texas’s labor market and its office and industrial footprints in the years ahead.
