{"h1":"Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs","faq":[{"a":"Huntsville has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 555 openings.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for aerospace and defense jobs?"},{"a":"67 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 67 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. 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. 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AFB","rank":63,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"77%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"69"}],"value":53,"change":null,"employers":["Odyssey Systems Consulting","Abacus Technology","Air Force Materiel Command"],"valueLabel":"53 openings"},{"n":52,"bar":0.0936936936936937,"key":"GA|atlanta","sub":"GA","href":"/places/georgia/city/atlanta","name":"Atlanta","rank":64,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$149k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,566"}],"value":52,"change":null,"employers":["Emory University","Oxford College of Emory University","Capgemini Invent"],"valueLabel":"52 openings"},{"n":52,"bar":0.0936936936936937,"key":"TN|memphis","sub":"TN","href":"/places/tennessee/city/memphis","name":"Memphis","rank":65,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"7%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"712"}],"value":52,"change":null,"employers":["ALSAC / St. Jude Children's Research Hospital","SpaceX","Jabil"],"valueLabel":"52 openings"},{"n":51,"bar":0.0918918918918919,"key":"CO|centennial","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/centennial","name":"Centennial","rank":66,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"32%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"158"}],"value":51,"change":null,"employers":["United Launch Alliance","Mastec","American Civil Constructors"],"valueLabel":"51 openings"},{"n":50,"bar":0.09009009009009009,"key":"MA|woburn","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/woburn","name":"Woburn","rank":67,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"29%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"175"}],"value":50,"change":null,"employers":["RTX","Kbwfinancial","Spear Bio"],"valueLabel":"50 openings"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-aerospace-and-defense-jobs","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs","family":"Industry markets","method":["A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do.","Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.","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":"2026-11-03T03:57:58.028Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"icopen","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Huntsville, AL: 555 openings","#2 Los Angeles, CA: 498 openings","#3 San Diego, CA: 377 openings","67 cities ranked in the United States","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: Huntsville (555 openings) is well clear of Denver at #10 (242 openings).","Huntsville is the largest market in the top ten, with 555 openings behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 50 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-cities-for-aerospace-and-defense-jobs"}