NextChapter

Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Southwest

San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 68 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 San Antonio, TX: 68 / 100
  • #2 Reno, NV: 59 / 100
  • #3 Austin, TX: 58 / 100
  • 14 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1San Antonio TX68 / 100
  2. 2Reno NV59 / 100
  3. 3Austin TX58 / 100
  4. 4Las Vegas NV53 / 100
  5. 5Scottsdale AZ53 / 100
  6. 6Dallas TX52 / 100
  7. 7Tempe AZ50 / 100
  8. 8Addison TX47 / 100
  9. 9Houston TX47 / 100
  10. 10Fort Worth TX46 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: San Antonio leads on 68 / 100, and #10 Fort Worth is at 46 / 100.
  • Addison reaches #8 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

New graduates need a place with many entry-level roles, pay that covers the cost of living and employers that state their pay. This list weighs those together and shows the weights, so it ranks the all-round picture rather than one number.

How to use it

Start with the top ten and read each city's numbers against what you value most. If one thing matters most to you, such as pay, switch to the single-measure list for it.

The top 25

  1. 1

    San Antonio TX

    68 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    36%
    Pay after cost of living
    $116k
    Entry-level openings
    464

    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

  2. 2

    Reno NV

    59 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    32%
    Pay after cost of living
    $132k
    Entry-level openings
    95

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 296 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

  3. 3

    Austin TX

    58 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    26%
    Pay after cost of living
    $166k
    Entry-level openings
    1,560

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 5,903 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  4. 4

    Las Vegas NV

    53 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    33%
    Pay after cost of living
    $105k
    Entry-level openings
    312

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

    Based on 932 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Las Vegas

  5. 5

    Scottsdale AZ

    53 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    33%
    Pay after cost of living
    $114k
    Entry-level openings
    250

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

    Based on 758 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Scottsdale

  6. 6

    Dallas TX

    52 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    27%
    Pay after cost of living
    $131k
    Entry-level openings
    1,180

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 4,429 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  7. 7

    Tempe AZ

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    35%
    Pay after cost of living
    $116k
    Entry-level openings
    232

    Hiring most here: Carvana, Amazon, Viasat

    Based on 672 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tempe

  8. 8

    Addison TX

    47 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    29%
    Pay after cost of living
    $155k
    Entry-level openings
    57

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

    Based on 197 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Addison

  9. 9

    Houston TX

    47 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    29%
    Pay after cost of living
    $120k
    Entry-level openings
    1,254

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 4,330 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  10. 10

    Fort Worth TX

    46 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    32%
    Pay after cost of living
    $112k
    Entry-level openings
    404

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

    Based on 1,267 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fort Worth

  11. 11

    Oklahoma City OK

    46 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    33%
    Pay after cost of living
    $120k
    Entry-level openings
    186

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

    Based on 569 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oklahoma City

  12. 12

    Phoenix AZ

    42 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $110k
    Entry-level openings
    843

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

    Based on 2,749 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  13. 13

    Plano TX

    42 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    30%
    Pay after cost of living
    $124k
    Entry-level openings
    314

    Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 1,051 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Plano

  14. 14

    Irving TX

    37 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    27%
    Pay after cost of living
    $137k
    Entry-level openings
    234

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

    Based on 883 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irving

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1San Antonio TX68 / 1001,282
2Reno NV59 / 100296
3Austin TX58 / 1005,903
4Las Vegas NV53 / 100932
5Scottsdale AZ53 / 100758
6Dallas TX52 / 1004,429
7Tempe AZ50 / 100672
8Addison TX47 / 100197
9Houston TX47 / 1004,330
10Fort Worth TX46 / 1001,267
11Oklahoma City OK46 / 100569
12Phoenix AZ42 / 1002,749
13Plano TX42 / 1001,051
14Irving TX37 / 100883

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): entry-level share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 25%, entry-level openings 20%, openings with pay posted 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 new graduates in the southwest?
San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 68 / 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): entry-level share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 25%, entry-level openings 20%, openings with pay posted 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 new graduates in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-southwest

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

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

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