NextChapter

Best cities for AI-skill jobs

Mountain View leads the United States for AI skills: 45% of its professional openings ask for them, against 12% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Mountain View, CA: 45%
  • #2 San Francisco, CA: 42%
  • #3 Palo Alto, CA: 38%
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 12% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Mountain View CA45%
  2. 2San Francisco CA42%
  3. 3Palo Alto CA38%
  4. 4San Mateo CA34%
  5. 5Menlo Park CA34%
  6. 6Lehi UT32%
  7. 7Sunnyvale CA29%
  8. 8Santa Clara CA28%
  9. 9Bellevue WA28%
  10. 10Redwood City CA26%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Mountain View (45%) is well clear of Redwood City at #10 (26%).
  • Lehi reaches #6 on a sample of 254 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 11,776 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 200 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Mountain View CA

    45%

    AI-skill openings
    682
    All openings
    1,513
    Median posted pay
    $213k

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google

    Based on 1,513 openings.

  2. 2

    San Francisco CA

    42%

    AI-skill openings
    4,932
    All openings
    11,776
    Median posted pay
    $215k

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 11,776 openings.

  3. 3

    Palo Alto CA

    38%

    AI-skill openings
    473
    All openings
    1,234
    Median posted pay
    $203k

    Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care

    Based on 1,234 openings.

  4. 4

    San Mateo CA

    34%

    AI-skill openings
    304
    All openings
    887
    Median posted pay
    $233k

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 887 openings.

  5. 5

    Menlo Park CA

    34%

    AI-skill openings
    148
    All openings
    439
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Snowflake, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, Hippocratic AI

    Based on 439 openings.

  6. 6

    Lehi UT

    32%

    AI-skill openings
    82
    All openings
    254
    Median posted pay
    $118k

    Hiring most here: Pattern, Podium, Weave

    Based on 254 openings.

  7. 7

    Sunnyvale CA

    29%

    AI-skill openings
    449
    All openings
    1,555
    Median posted pay
    $210k

    Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon

    Based on 1,555 openings.

  8. 8

    Santa Clara CA

    28%

    AI-skill openings
    433
    All openings
    1,522
    Median posted pay
    $208k

    Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon

    Based on 1,522 openings.

  9. 9

    Bellevue WA

    28%

    AI-skill openings
    386
    All openings
    1,395
    Median posted pay
    $197k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta

    Based on 1,395 openings.

  10. 10

    Redwood City CA

    26%

    AI-skill openings
    124
    All openings
    470
    Median posted pay
    $187k

    Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI

    Based on 470 openings.

  11. 11

    Seattle WA

    26%

    AI-skill openings
    1,384
    All openings
    5,347
    Median posted pay
    $180k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 5,347 openings.

  12. 12

    Foster City CA

    24%

    AI-skill openings
    125
    All openings
    520
    Median posted pay
    $230k

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit

    Based on 520 openings.

  13. 13

    San Jose CA

    23%

    AI-skill openings
    545
    All openings
    2,383
    Median posted pay
    $198k

    Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems

    Based on 2,383 openings.

  14. 14

    Littleton CO

    23%

    AI-skill openings
    61
    All openings
    271
    Median posted pay
    $128k

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, Lockheed Martin Services

    Based on 271 openings.

  15. 15

    Boston MA

    22%

    AI-skill openings
    1,141
    All openings
    5,086
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 5,086 openings.

  16. 16

    Culver City CA

    22%

    AI-skill openings
    54
    All openings
    242
    Median posted pay
    $141k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Scopely, Apple

    Based on 242 openings.

  17. 17

    Somerville MA

    22%

    AI-skill openings
    62
    All openings
    282
    Median posted pay
    $145k

    Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines

    Based on 282 openings.

  18. 18

    Eden Prairie MN

    21%

    AI-skill openings
    67
    All openings
    318
    Median posted pay
    $136k

    Hiring most here: Unitedhealth Group, LHC Group, Illinois Tool Works

    Based on 318 openings.

  19. 19

    New York NY

    21%

    AI-skill openings
    4,261
    All openings
    20,410
    Median posted pay
    $165k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 20,410 openings.

  20. 20

    Santa Monica CA

    21%

    AI-skill openings
    63
    All openings
    307
    Median posted pay
    $168k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Snap, FIGS

    Based on 307 openings.

  21. 21

    Austin TX

    19%

    AI-skill openings
    1,099
    All openings
    5,890
    Median posted pay
    $163k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 5,890 openings.

  22. 22

    Ann Arbor MI

    18%

    AI-skill openings
    64
    All openings
    350
    Median posted pay
    $151k

    Hiring most here: May Mobility, Torc Robotics, Thomson Reuters

    Based on 350 openings.

  23. 23

    Redmond WA

    18%

    AI-skill openings
    210
    All openings
    1,150
    Median posted pay
    $209k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft

    Based on 1,150 openings.

  24. 24

    Lexington MA

    18%

    AI-skill openings
    45
    All openings
    253
    Median posted pay
    $171k

    Hiring most here: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Lincoln Lab), Takeda Development Center Americas, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

    Based on 253 openings.

  25. 25

    McLean VA

    17%

    AI-skill openings
    203
    All openings
    1,167
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk

    Based on 1,167 openings.

Full ranking

All 100 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Mountain View CA45%1,513
2San Francisco CA42%11,776
3Palo Alto CA38%1,234
4San Mateo CA34%887
5Menlo Park CA34%439
6Lehi UT32%254
7Sunnyvale CA29%1,555
8Santa Clara CA28%1,522
9Bellevue WA28%1,395
10Redwood City CA26%470
11Seattle WA26%5,347
12Foster City CA24%520
13San Jose CA23%2,383
14Littleton CO23%271
15Boston MA22%5,086
16Culver City CA22%242
17Somerville MA22%282
18Eden Prairie MN21%318
19New York NY21%20,410
20Santa Monica CA21%307
21Austin TX19%5,890
22Ann Arbor MI18%350
23Redmond WA18%1,150
24Lexington MA18%253
25McLean VA17%1,167
26Framingham MA17%207
27Spring TX17%342
28Oakland CA17%577
29Reston VA16%782
30Denver CO16%2,885
31Jersey City NJ16%610
32Waltham MA16%580
33Irving TX14%875
34San Carlos CA14%211
35Arlington VA14%1,978
36Quincy MA14%256
37Chicago IL14%7,617
38King of Prussia PA14%327
39Milpitas CA14%256
40Princeton NJ14%391
41Cambridge MA13%1,275
42Herndon VA13%820
43Rolling Meadows IL13%281
44Atlanta GA13%5,502
45San Diego CA13%3,082
46Fremont CA12%473
47Cary NC12%229
48Dallas TX12%4,379
49Alpharetta GA12%566
50Irvine CA12%1,505
51Tempe AZ12%671
52Plano TX11%1,066
53Washington DC11%4,428
54Pasadena CA11%257
55Broomfield CO11%285
56Wilmington DE11%476
57Bethesda MD11%441
58Brooklyn NY11%680
59Santa Ana CA11%256
60Detroit MI11%740
61El Segundo CA10%946
62Burlington MA10%268
63Boca Raton FL10%340
64Durham NC10%775
65Newark NJ10%426
66Los Angeles CA10%5,101
67Stamford CT10%326
68Chantilly VA9%554
69Rockville MD9%358
70Charlotte NC9%3,201
71Schaumburg IL9%215
72Annapolis Junction MD9%204
73Columbia MD8%260
74Englewood CO8%249
75Nashville TN8%1,654
76Miami FL8%2,311
77Des Moines IA8%365
78Salt Lake City UT8%1,045
79Mc Lean VA8%234
80Berkeley CA8%238
81Raleigh NC8%1,421
82Springfield VA7%269
83Richardson TX7%404
84Ashburn VA7%257
85Fort Meade MD7%272
86Minneapolis MN7%1,285
87Lexington KY7%221
88White Plains NY7%221
89Lenexa KS7%211
90Boulder CO7%425
91Carlsbad CA7%298
92Jacksonville FL7%1,055
93Scottsdale AZ7%756
94Bloomington MN7%202
95Newport Beach CA7%285
96Aurora CO7%333
97Columbus OH7%1,942
98Pittsburgh PA7%1,534
99Philadelphia PA6%1,852
100Albany NY6%365

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles whose posting names at least one AI skill or tool, found by our AI-skill tagger on the posting text.

The tagger looks for named skills (for example prompt engineering, machine learning, or a named AI tool), not the words "AI-powered" in a company blurb.

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 200 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week. 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 cities for ai-skill jobs?
Mountain View leads the United States for AI skills: 45% of its professional openings ask for them, against 12% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 200 openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its open professional roles whose posting names at least one AI skill or tool, found by our AI-skill tagger on the posting text. The tagger looks for named skills (for example prompt engineering, machine learning, or a named AI tool), not the words "AI-powered" in a company blurb. 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 cities for AI-skill jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs">Best cities for AI-skill jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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