{"h1":"Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Mountain West","faq":[{"a":"Denver is the best all-round city for mid-career professionals in the Mountain West, with a score of 71 / 100.","q":"Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the mountain west?"},{"a":"10 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 10 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): mid-career share of openings 35%, pay after cost of living 30%, mid-career openings 20%, director-and-above share 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":"Denver is the best all-round city for mid-career professionals in the Mountain West, with a score of 71 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":2867,"bar":1,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"55%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$132k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"1,564"}],"value":70.55555555555556,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"71 / 100"},{"n":258,"bar":0.9763779527559054,"key":"CO|westminster","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/westminster","name":"Westminster","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"59%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$143k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"153"}],"value":68.88888888888889,"change":null,"employers":["CesiumAstro","BAE Systems","Loenbro"],"valueLabel":"69 / 100"},{"n":423,"bar":0.7480314960629921,"key":"CO|boulder","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/boulder","name":"Boulder","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$141k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"218"}],"value":52.77777777777778,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Scitec Innovations","Atom Computing"],"valueLabel":"53 / 100"},{"n":692,"bar":0.748031496062992,"key":"CO|colorado springs","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/colorado-springs","name":"Colorado Springs","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"58%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$114k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"402"}],"value":52.77777777777777,"change":null,"employers":["Northrop Grumman","Trinzic","Odyssey Systems Consulting"],"valueLabel":"53 / 100"},{"n":1048,"bar":0.6692913385826771,"key":"UT|salt lake city","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/salt-lake-city","name":"Salt Lake City","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"51%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$127k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"536"}],"value":47.22222222222222,"change":null,"employers":["L3HARRIS Technologies","iCapital","Harris Health Strategic Fund"],"valueLabel":"47 / 100"},{"n":335,"bar":0.6535433070866142,"key":"CO|aurora","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/aurora","name":"Aurora","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"53%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$136k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"178"}],"value":46.11111111111111,"change":null,"employers":["Northrop Grumman","CACI International","RTX"],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":296,"bar":0.6377952755905512,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$132k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"155"}],"value":45,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"45 / 100"},{"n":285,"bar":0.6141732283464566,"key":"CO|broomfield","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/broomfield","name":"Broomfield","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"46%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$144k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"130"}],"value":43.33333333333333,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Crocs","Katalyst Ventures"],"valueLabel":"43 / 100"},{"n":360,"bar":0.5511811023622047,"key":"ID|boise","sub":"ID","href":null,"name":"Boise","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"54%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$108k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"194"}],"value":38.88888888888889,"change":null,"employers":["Simplot Company Foundation","Micron Technology","Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories"],"valueLabel":"39 / 100"},{"n":932,"bar":0.4881889763779527,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"47%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$105k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"440"}],"value":34.44444444444444,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"34 / 100"}],"slug":"best-all-round-cities-for-mid-career-professionals-in-the-mountain-west","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"mountain-west","kind":"region","name":"Mountain West"},"title":"Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Mountain West","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): mid-career share of openings 35%, pay after cost of living 30%, mid-career openings 20%, director-and-above share 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":"cmid","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Denver, CO: 71 / 100","#2 Westminster, CO: 69 / 100","#3 Boulder, CO: 53 / 100","10 cities ranked in the Mountain West","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: Denver (71 / 100) is well clear of Las Vegas at #10 (34 / 100).","Denver is the largest market in the top ten, with 2,867 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-mid-career-professionals-in-the-mountain-west"}