NextChapter

Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southwest

Austin is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Southwest, with a score of 97 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 Austin, TX: 97 / 100
  • #2 Dallas, TX: 82 / 100
  • #3 Addison, TX: 79 / 100
  • 14 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Austin TX97 / 100
  2. 2Dallas TX82 / 100
  3. 3Addison TX79 / 100
  4. 4Irving TX78 / 100
  5. 5Plano TX62 / 100
  6. 6Houston TX55 / 100
  7. 7Tempe AZ54 / 100
  8. 8Fort Worth TX39 / 100
  9. 9Scottsdale AZ38 / 100
  10. 10Phoenix AZ37 / 100

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Austin (97 / 100) is well clear of Phoenix at #10 (37 / 100).
  • Addison reaches #3 on a sample of 197 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Austin is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,903 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

Careers that use AI cluster in a few places. This list weighs the share and number of openings that ask for AI skills and the pay they offer, to show where AI work is concentrated.

How to use it

If you are building AI skills, the top cities show where the employers and the roles are. The gap between your city and the top is a guide to what to add to your résumé.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Austin TX

    97 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    19%
    AI-skill openings
    1,097
    Median posted pay
    $163k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 5,903 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  2. 2

    Dallas TX

    82 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    12%
    AI-skill openings
    520
    Median posted pay
    $136k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 4,429 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  3. 3

    Addison TX

    79 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    35%
    AI-skill openings
    69
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America

    Based on 197 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Addison

  4. 4

    Irving TX

    78 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    14%
    AI-skill openings
    125
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: CHRISTUS Health, 7-Eleven, Mckesson

    Based on 883 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irving

  5. 5

    Plano TX

    62 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    11%
    AI-skill openings
    115
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 1,051 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Plano

  6. 6

    Houston TX

    55 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    6%
    AI-skill openings
    239
    Median posted pay
    $119k

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 4,330 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  7. 7

    Tempe AZ

    54 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    12%
    AI-skill openings
    78
    Median posted pay
    $116k

    Hiring most here: Carvana, Amazon, Viasat

    Based on 672 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tempe

  8. 8

    Fort Worth TX

    39 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    6%
    AI-skill openings
    77
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, MP Materials

    Based on 1,267 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fort Worth

  9. 9

    Scottsdale AZ

    38 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    7%
    AI-skill openings
    53
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Axon Enterprise, AMI Semiconductor

    Based on 758 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Scottsdale

  10. 10

    Phoenix AZ

    37 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    5%
    AI-skill openings
    151
    Median posted pay
    $114k

    Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology

    Based on 2,749 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  11. 11

    Reno NV

    28 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    4%
    AI-skill openings
    12
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 296 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

  12. 12

    Oklahoma City OK

    23 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    6%
    AI-skill openings
    34
    Median posted pay
    $105k

    Hiring most here: Love's Travel Stops, CACI International, Northrop Grumman

    Based on 569 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oklahoma City

  13. 13

    Las Vegas NV

    14 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    5%
    AI-skill openings
    43
    Median posted pay
    $105k

    Hiring most here: Caesars Entertainment, Allegiant Travel Company, Jt4

    Based on 932 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Las Vegas

  14. 14

    San Antonio TX

    13 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    3%
    AI-skill openings
    35
    Median posted pay
    $110k

    Hiring most here: H-E-B, University Health San Antonio, UT Health San Antonio

    Based on 1,282 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Antonio

Full ranking

All 14 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Austin TX97 / 1005,903
2Dallas TX82 / 1004,429
3Addison TX79 / 100197
4Irving TX78 / 100883
5Plano TX62 / 1001,051
6Houston TX55 / 1004,330
7Tempe AZ54 / 100672
8Fort Worth TX39 / 1001,267
9Scottsdale AZ38 / 100758
10Phoenix AZ37 / 1002,749
11Reno NV28 / 100296
12Oklahoma City OK23 / 100569
13Las Vegas NV14 / 100932
14San Antonio TX13 / 1001,282

How this ranking works

A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): ai-skill share of openings 35%, ai-skill openings 30%, median posted pay 20%, pay after cost of living 15%.

A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most.

Only cities with enough openings and pay data are ranked.

A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.

Sample bar: cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024. Data as of November 2026.

Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.

Questions

Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for ai careers in the southwest?
Austin is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Southwest, with a score of 97 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
14 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 14 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): ai-skill share of openings 35%, ai-skill openings 30%, median posted pay 20%, pay after cost of living 15%. A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most. Only cities with enough openings and pay data are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
How often is it updated?
Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.

More rankings

Cite this ranking

NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-southwest

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-southwest">Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southwest (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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