Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the West Coast
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 Mountain View, CA: 85 / 100
- #2 San Mateo, CA: 82 / 100
- #3 San Francisco, CA: 81 / 100
- 36 cities ranked in the West Coast
- Data as of November 2026
- 1Mountain View CA85 / 100
- 2San Mateo CA82 / 100
- 3San Francisco CA81 / 100
- 4Bellevue WA77 / 100
- 5Sunnyvale CA75 / 100
- 6Palo Alto CA72 / 100
- 7Seattle WA68 / 100
- 8Santa Clara CA62 / 100
- 9San Carlos CA62 / 100
- 10San Jose CA62 / 100
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Mountain View leads on 85 / 100, and #10 San Jose is at 62 / 100.
- San Carlos reaches #9 on a sample of 210 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 11,798 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
Mid-career professionals look for depth of experienced roles, pay that holds up after the cost of living and room to move up. This list weighs those together, with published weights.
How to use it
Use it to shortlist places for a move or a search, then check the employers hiring in your function. The weights are a judgment, so use the single-measure lists when one factor decides it.
The top 25
- 1
Mountain View CA
85 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 68%
- Pay after cost of living
- $193k
- Mid-career openings
- 1,025
Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google
Based on 1,515 openings.
- 3
San Francisco CA
81 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 61%
- Pay after cost of living
- $186k
- Mid-career openings
- 7,155
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 11,798 openings.
- 4
Bellevue WA
77 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 66%
- Pay after cost of living
- $184k
- Mid-career openings
- 922
Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta
Based on 1,396 openings.
- 5
Sunnyvale CA
75 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 59%
- Pay after cost of living
- $190k
- Mid-career openings
- 919
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon
Based on 1,556 openings.
- 6
Palo Alto CA
72 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 59%
- Pay after cost of living
- $184k
- Mid-career openings
- 736
Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care
Based on 1,237 openings.
- 7
Seattle WA
68 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 59%
- Pay after cost of living
- $162k
- Mid-career openings
- 3,136
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 5,343 openings.
- 8
Santa Clara CA
62 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 52%
- Pay after cost of living
- $188k
- Mid-career openings
- 794
Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon
Based on 1,530 openings.
- 9
San Carlos CA
62 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 65%
- Pay after cost of living
- $176k
- Mid-career openings
- 137
Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera
Based on 210 openings.
- 10
San Jose CA
62 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 52%
- Pay after cost of living
- $180k
- Mid-career openings
- 1,245
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 2,379 openings.
- 11
Menlo Park CA
60 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 58%
- Pay after cost of living
- $169k
- Mid-career openings
- 255
Hiring most here: Snowflake, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, Hippocratic AI
Based on 437 openings.
- 12
Foster City CA
60 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 51%
- Pay after cost of living
- $208k
- Mid-career openings
- 265
Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit
Based on 520 openings.
- 13
Everett WA
55 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 61%
- Pay after cost of living
- $169k
- Mid-career openings
- 113
Hiring most here: Helion Energy, Fortive, TerraPower
Based on 186 openings.
- 14
Berkeley CA
54 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 63%
- Pay after cost of living
- $144k
- Mid-career openings
- 151
Hiring most here: Form Energy, University of California, Berkeley, Rigetti Computing
Based on 238 openings.
- 15
Newark CA
50 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 62%
- Pay after cost of living
- $155k
- Mid-career openings
- 80
Hiring most here: Lucid Motors, Applied Industrial Technologies, Stratus Technologies
Based on 130 openings.
- 16
Redwood City CA
49 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 52%
- Pay after cost of living
- $162k
- Mid-career openings
- 246
Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI
Based on 471 openings.
- 17
Fremont CA
49 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 57%
- Pay after cost of living
- $156k
- Mid-career openings
- 268
Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research
Based on 470 openings.
- 18
Santa Monica CA
48 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 56%
- Pay after cost of living
- $151k
- Mid-career openings
- 171
Hiring most here: Amazon, Snap, FIGS
Based on 307 openings.
- 19
Oakland CA
46 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 51%
- Pay after cost of living
- $162k
- Mid-career openings
- 299
Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, Blue Shield of California, Fivetran
Based on 581 openings.
- 20
Torrance CA
46 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 58%
- Pay after cost of living
- $150k
- Mid-career openings
- 426
Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros
Based on 735 openings.
- 21
Irvine CA
43 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 53%
- Pay after cost of living
- $140k
- Mid-career openings
- 795
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, Rivian Automotive
Based on 1,503 openings.
- 23
Milpitas CA
41 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 59%
- Pay after cost of living
- $145k
- Mid-career openings
- 151
Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, KLA, Psiquantum
Based on 257 openings.
- 25
Alameda CA
38 / 100
- Mid-career share of openings
- 47%
- Pay after cost of living
- $171k
- Mid-career openings
- 89
Hiring most here: Saildrone, Penumbra, Kairos Power
Based on 189 openings.
Full ranking
All 36 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountain View CA | 85 / 100 | 1,515 |
| 2 | San Mateo CA | 82 / 100 | 894 |
| 3 | San Francisco CA | 81 / 100 | 11,798 |
| 4 | Bellevue WA | 77 / 100 | 1,396 |
| 5 | Sunnyvale CA | 75 / 100 | 1,556 |
| 6 | Palo Alto CA | 72 / 100 | 1,237 |
| 7 | Seattle WA | 68 / 100 | 5,343 |
| 8 | Santa Clara CA | 62 / 100 | 1,530 |
| 9 | San Carlos CA | 62 / 100 | 210 |
| 10 | San Jose CA | 62 / 100 | 2,379 |
| 11 | Menlo Park CA | 60 / 100 | 437 |
| 12 | Foster City CA | 60 / 100 | 520 |
| 13 | Everett WA | 55 / 100 | 186 |
| 14 | Berkeley CA | 54 / 100 | 238 |
| 15 | Newark CA | 50 / 100 | 130 |
| 16 | Redwood City CA | 49 / 100 | 471 |
| 17 | Fremont CA | 49 / 100 | 470 |
| 18 | Santa Monica CA | 48 / 100 | 307 |
| 19 | Oakland CA | 46 / 100 | 581 |
| 20 | Torrance CA | 46 / 100 | 735 |
| 21 | Irvine CA | 43 / 100 | 1,503 |
| 22 | Redmond WA | 42 / 100 | 1,147 |
| 23 | Milpitas CA | 41 / 100 | 257 |
| 24 | Kirkland WA | 41 / 100 | 158 |
| 25 | Alameda CA | 38 / 100 | 189 |
| 26 | Los Angeles CA | 37 / 100 | 5,126 |
| 27 | San Diego CA | 37 / 100 | 3,085 |
| 28 | Santa Ana CA | 37 / 100 | 258 |
| 29 | Long Beach CA | 36 / 100 | 840 |
| 30 | Newport Beach CA | 35 / 100 | 286 |
| 31 | El Segundo CA | 35 / 100 | 949 |
| 32 | Pleasanton CA | 34 / 100 | 174 |
| 33 | Portland OR | 33 / 100 | 792 |
| 34 | Sacramento CA | 28 / 100 | 1,364 |
| 35 | Renton WA | 21 / 100 | 130 |
| 36 | Corona CA | 19 / 100 | 143 |
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): 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.
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 mid-career professionals in the west coast?
- Mountain View is the best all-round city for mid-career professionals in the West Coast, with a score of 85 / 100.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 36 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 36 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): 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.
- 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
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the West Coast
- Best college towns for junior jobs in the West Coast
- Counties with the lowest unemployment in the West Coast
- Counties where unemployment fell the most in the West Coast
- Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the West Coast
- Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the West Coast
- Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-mid-career-professionals-in-the-west-coast
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-mid-career-professionals-in-the-west-coast">Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the West Coast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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