{"h1":"Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southwest","faq":[{"a":"Austin is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Southwest, with a score of 97 / 100.","q":"Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for ai careers in the southwest?"},{"a":"14 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 14 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Austin is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Southwest, with a score of 97 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":5903,"bar":1,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"19%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"1,097"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$163k"}],"value":97.3076923076923,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"97 / 100"},{"n":4429,"bar":0.841897233201581,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"12%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"520"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$136k"}],"value":81.92307692307692,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"82 / 100"},{"n":197,"bar":0.8102766798418972,"key":"TX|addison","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/addison","name":"Addison","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"35%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"69"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$150k"}],"value":78.84615384615384,"change":null,"employers":["National Life Group","National Life Insurance Company","Bank of America"],"valueLabel":"79 / 100"},{"n":883,"bar":0.8063241106719367,"key":"TX|irving","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/irving","name":"Irving","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"14%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"125"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$133k"}],"value":78.46153846153845,"change":null,"employers":["CHRISTUS Health","7-Eleven","Mckesson"],"valueLabel":"78 / 100"},{"n":1051,"bar":0.6324110671936759,"key":"TX|plano","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/plano","name":"Plano","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"11%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"115"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$120k"}],"value":61.53846153846154,"change":null,"employers":["NTT Data","Pepsico","JPMorgan Chase"],"valueLabel":"62 / 100"},{"n":4330,"bar":0.5652173913043478,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"6%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"239"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$119k"}],"value":55,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"55 / 100"},{"n":672,"bar":0.5573122529644269,"key":"AZ|tempe","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/tempe","name":"Tempe","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"12%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"78"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$116k"}],"value":54.23076923076923,"change":null,"employers":["Carvana","Amazon","Viasat"],"valueLabel":"54 / 100"},{"n":1267,"bar":0.4031620553359683,"key":"TX|fort worth","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/fort-worth","name":"Fort Worth","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"6%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"77"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$115k"}],"value":39.23076923076923,"change":null,"employers":["Lockheed Martin","Sikorsky Aircraft","MP Materials"],"valueLabel":"39 / 100"},{"n":758,"bar":0.3952569169960474,"key":"AZ|scottsdale","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/scottsdale","name":"Scottsdale","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"7%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"53"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$115k"}],"value":38.46153846153846,"change":null,"employers":["General Dynamics Mission Systems","Axon Enterprise","AMI Semiconductor"],"valueLabel":"38 / 100"},{"n":2749,"bar":0.3794466403162055,"key":"AZ|phoenix","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/phoenix","name":"Phoenix","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"5%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"151"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$114k"}],"value":36.92307692307692,"change":null,"employers":["Honeywell Aerospace","State of Arizona","American Society for Microbiology"],"valueLabel":"37 / 100"},{"n":296,"bar":0.2885375494071146,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"4%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"12"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$132k"}],"value":28.07692307692307,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"28 / 100"},{"n":569,"bar":0.233201581027668,"key":"OK|oklahoma city","sub":"OK","href":"/places/oklahoma/city/oklahoma-city","name":"Oklahoma City","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"6%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"34"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$105k"}],"value":22.69230769230769,"change":null,"employers":["Love's Travel Stops","CACI International","Northrop Grumman"],"valueLabel":"23 / 100"},{"n":932,"bar":0.1422924901185771,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"5%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"43"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$105k"}],"value":13.84615384615384,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"14 / 100"},{"n":1282,"bar":0.1383399209486166,"key":"TX|san antonio","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/san-antonio","name":"San Antonio","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"AI-skill share of openings","value":"3%"},{"label":"AI-skill openings","value":"35"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$110k"}],"value":13.46153846153846,"change":null,"employers":["H-E-B","University Health San Antonio","UT Health San Antonio"],"valueLabel":"13 / 100"}],"slug":"best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-southwest","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"southwest","kind":"region","name":"Southwest"},"title":"Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Southwest","family":"Best overall","method":["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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T03:50:28.595Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"cai","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#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"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["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."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-southwest"}