{"h1":"Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Southwest","faq":[{"a":"San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 68 / 100.","q":"Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for new graduates 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): 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.","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":"San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 68 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":1282,"bar":1,"key":"TX|san antonio","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/san-antonio","name":"San Antonio","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"36%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"464"}],"value":68.07692307692308,"change":null,"employers":["H-E-B","University Health San Antonio","UT Health San Antonio"],"valueLabel":"68 / 100"},{"n":296,"bar":0.8700564971751411,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"32%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$132k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"95"}],"value":59.23076923076923,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"59 / 100"},{"n":5903,"bar":0.847457627118644,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"26%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$166k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"1,560"}],"value":57.69230769230769,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"58 / 100"},{"n":932,"bar":0.7853107344632769,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"33%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$105k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"312"}],"value":53.46153846153847,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"53 / 100"},{"n":758,"bar":0.7853107344632768,"key":"AZ|scottsdale","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/scottsdale","name":"Scottsdale","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"33%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$114k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"250"}],"value":53.46153846153846,"change":null,"employers":["General Dynamics Mission Systems","Axon Enterprise","AMI Semiconductor"],"valueLabel":"53 / 100"},{"n":4429,"bar":0.7627118644067796,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"27%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$131k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"1,180"}],"value":51.92307692307693,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"52 / 100"},{"n":672,"bar":0.7401129943502824,"key":"AZ|tempe","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/tempe","name":"Tempe","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"35%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"232"}],"value":50.38461538461539,"change":null,"employers":["Carvana","Amazon","Viasat"],"valueLabel":"50 / 100"},{"n":197,"bar":0.6949152542372881,"key":"TX|addison","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/addison","name":"Addison","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"29%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$155k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"57"}],"value":47.30769230769231,"change":null,"employers":["National Life Group","National Life Insurance Company","Bank of America"],"valueLabel":"47 / 100"},{"n":4330,"bar":0.6836158192090395,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"29%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"1,254"}],"value":46.53846153846153,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"47 / 100"},{"n":1267,"bar":0.672316384180791,"key":"TX|fort worth","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/fort-worth","name":"Fort Worth","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"32%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$112k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"404"}],"value":45.76923076923077,"change":null,"employers":["Lockheed Martin","Sikorsky Aircraft","MP Materials"],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":569,"bar":0.6723163841807909,"key":"OK|oklahoma city","sub":"OK","href":"/places/oklahoma/city/oklahoma-city","name":"Oklahoma City","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"33%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$120k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"186"}],"value":45.76923076923077,"change":null,"employers":["Love's Travel Stops","CACI International","Northrop Grumman"],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":2749,"bar":0.6101694915254238,"key":"AZ|phoenix","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/phoenix","name":"Phoenix","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"31%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$110k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"843"}],"value":41.53846153846154,"change":null,"employers":["Honeywell Aerospace","State of Arizona","American Society for Microbiology"],"valueLabel":"42 / 100"},{"n":1051,"bar":0.6101694915254237,"key":"TX|plano","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/plano","name":"Plano","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"30%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$124k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"314"}],"value":41.53846153846153,"change":null,"employers":["NTT Data","Pepsico","JPMorgan Chase"],"valueLabel":"42 / 100"},{"n":883,"bar":0.5480225988700564,"key":"TX|irving","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/irving","name":"Irving","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"27%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$137k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"234"}],"value":37.30769230769231,"change":null,"employers":["CHRISTUS Health","7-Eleven","Mckesson"],"valueLabel":"37 / 100"}],"slug":"best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-southwest","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"southwest","kind":"region","name":"Southwest"},"title":"Best all-round cities for new graduates 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): 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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T03:50:28.595Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"cgrad","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#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"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["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."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-southwest"}