{"h1":"Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Southwest","faq":[{"a":"Austin is the best all-round city for mid-career professionals in the Southwest, with a score of 92 / 100.","q":"Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for mid-career professionals 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): 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":"Austin is the best all-round city for mid-career professionals in the Southwest, with a score of 92 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":5903,"bar":1,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"53%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$166k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"3,134"}],"value":91.53846153846153,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"92 / 100"},{"n":4330,"bar":0.7857142857142857,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"54%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"2,347"}],"value":71.92307692307692,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"72 / 100"},{"n":883,"bar":0.7815126050420169,"key":"TX|irving","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/irving","name":"Irving","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$137k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"460"}],"value":71.53846153846155,"change":null,"employers":["CHRISTUS Health","7-Eleven","Mckesson"],"valueLabel":"72 / 100"},{"n":4429,"bar":0.7394957983193277,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"51%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$131k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"2,256"}],"value":67.69230769230768,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"68 / 100"},{"n":296,"bar":0.6134453781512605,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$132k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"155"}],"value":56.15384615384615,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"56 / 100"},{"n":1051,"bar":0.5336134453781513,"key":"TX|plano","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/plano","name":"Plano","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"49%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$124k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"520"}],"value":48.84615384615385,"change":null,"employers":["NTT Data","Pepsico","JPMorgan Chase"],"valueLabel":"49 / 100"},{"n":569,"bar":0.5210084033613445,"key":"OK|oklahoma city","sub":"OK","href":"/places/oklahoma/city/oklahoma-city","name":"Oklahoma City","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"298"}],"value":47.69230769230769,"change":null,"employers":["Love's Travel Stops","CACI International","Northrop Grumman"],"valueLabel":"48 / 100"},{"n":2749,"bar":0.5042016806722689,"key":"AZ|phoenix","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/phoenix","name":"Phoenix","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"52%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$110k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"1,429"}],"value":46.15384615384615,"change":null,"employers":["Honeywell Aerospace","State of Arizona","American Society for Microbiology"],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":197,"bar":0.4663865546218488,"key":"TX|addison","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/addison","name":"Addison","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"42%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$155k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"82"}],"value":42.69230769230769,"change":null,"employers":["National Life Group","National Life Insurance Company","Bank of America"],"valueLabel":"43 / 100"},{"n":1267,"bar":0.407563025210084,"key":"TX|fort worth","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/fort-worth","name":"Fort Worth","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"50%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$112k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"635"}],"value":37.30769230769231,"change":null,"employers":["Lockheed Martin","Sikorsky Aircraft","MP Materials"],"valueLabel":"37 / 100"},{"n":672,"bar":0.3571428571428572,"key":"AZ|tempe","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/tempe","name":"Tempe","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"51%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"345"}],"value":32.69230769230769,"change":null,"employers":["Carvana","Amazon","Viasat"],"valueLabel":"33 / 100"},{"n":1282,"bar":0.3529411764705883,"key":"TX|san antonio","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/san-antonio","name":"San Antonio","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"47%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"605"}],"value":32.30769230769231,"change":null,"employers":["H-E-B","University Health San Antonio","UT Health San Antonio"],"valueLabel":"32 / 100"},{"n":758,"bar":0.3277310924369748,"key":"AZ|scottsdale","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/scottsdale","name":"Scottsdale","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"50%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$114k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"382"}],"value":30,"change":null,"employers":["General Dynamics Mission Systems","Axon Enterprise","AMI Semiconductor"],"valueLabel":"30 / 100"},{"n":932,"bar":0.2563025210084033,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Mid-career share of openings","value":"47%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$105k"},{"label":"Mid-career openings","value":"440"}],"value":23.46153846153846,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"23 / 100"}],"slug":"best-all-round-cities-for-mid-career-professionals-in-the-southwest","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"southwest","kind":"region","name":"Southwest"},"title":"Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals 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): 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 Austin, TX: 92 / 100","#2 Houston, TX: 72 / 100","#3 Irving, TX: 72 / 100","14 cities ranked in the Southwest","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: Austin (92 / 100) is well clear of Fort Worth at #10 (37 / 100).","Addison reaches #9 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-mid-career-professionals-in-the-southwest"}