NextChapter

Best cities for AI-skill jobs in New England

Boston leads New England for AI skills: 22% of its professional openings ask for them, against 13% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Boston, MA: 22%
  • #2 Somerville, MA: 22%
  • #3 Lexington, MA: 18%
  • 28 cities ranked in New England
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 13% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Boston MA22%
  2. 2Somerville MA22%
  3. 3Lexington MA18%
  4. 4Framingham MA17%
  5. 5Waltham MA16%
  6. 6Greenwich CT15%
  7. 7Quincy MA14%
  8. 8Cambridge MA13%
  9. 9Norwood MA13%
  10. 10Lowell MA13%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Boston (22%) is well clear of Lowell at #10 (13%).
  • Norwood reaches #9 on a sample of 108 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Boston is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,086 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    Framingham MA

    17%

    AI-skill openings
    36
    All openings
    207
    Median posted pay
    $123k

    Hiring most here: Staples, Bose, TJX Companies

    Based on 207 openings.

  5. 5

    Waltham MA

    16%

    AI-skill openings
    91
    All openings
    580
    Median posted pay
    $194k

    Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry

    Based on 580 openings.

  6. 6

    Greenwich CT

    15%

    AI-skill openings
    19
    All openings
    129
    Median posted pay
    $140k

    Hiring most here: iCapital, AQR Capital, Berkley W R

    Based on 129 openings.

  7. 7

    Quincy MA

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    36
    All openings
    256
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: State Street, Anduril Industries, Anduril

    Based on 256 openings.

  8. 8

    Cambridge MA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    170
    All openings
    1,275
    Median posted pay
    $197k

    Hiring most here: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Harvard University, Biogen

    Based on 1,275 openings.

  9. 9

    Norwood MA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    14
    All openings
    108
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Moderna, Home Market Foods, Illinois Tool Works

    Based on 108 openings.

  10. 10

    Lowell MA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    18
    All openings
    143
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: Macom, UKG

    Based on 143 openings.

  11. 11

    Watertown MA

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    14
    All openings
    123
    Median posted pay
    $200k

    Hiring most here: Tutor Intelligence, Kymera Therapeutics, Treeline Biosciences

    Based on 123 openings.

  12. 12

    Burlington MA

    10%

    AI-skill openings
    27
    All openings
    268
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: State Street, Veracode, Vericel

    Based on 268 openings.

  13. 13

    Stamford CT

    10%

    AI-skill openings
    32
    All openings
    326
    Median posted pay
    $128k

    Hiring most here: Philip Morris International, Gartner, Oak Ridge Legal Search

    Based on 326 openings.

  14. 14

    Bedford MA

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    17
    All openings
    193
    Median posted pay
    $157k

    Hiring most here: The MITRE, Stoke Therapeutics, Entegris

    Based on 193 openings.

  15. 15

    Westborough MA

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    10
    All openings
    116
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Olympus America, Astellas (ADP)

    Based on 116 openings.

  16. 16

    Wilmington MA

    8%

    AI-skill openings
    12
    All openings
    148
    Median posted pay
    $144k

    Hiring most here: Onto Innovation, L3HARRIS Technologies, Unifirst

    Based on 148 openings.

  17. 17

    Newton MA

    8%

    AI-skill openings
    9
    All openings
    113
    Median posted pay
    $153k

    Hiring most here: Panera Brands, Siemens Healthineers, The RMR Group

    Based on 113 openings.

  18. 18

    Andover MA

    8%

    AI-skill openings
    13
    All openings
    166
    Median posted pay
    $129k

    Hiring most here: RTX, TransMedics Group, Vicor

    Based on 166 openings.

  19. 19

    Hartford CT

    6%

    AI-skill openings
    22
    All openings
    350
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: CVS HEALTH, Hartford HealthCare, Eversource Energy

    Based on 350 openings.

  20. 20

    Portland ME

    6%

    AI-skill openings
    12
    All openings
    191
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Unum Group, BerryDunn, Kbwfinancial

    Based on 191 openings.

  21. 21

    Springfield MA

    5%

    AI-skill openings
    6
    All openings
    111
    Median posted pay
    $91k

    Hiring most here: MassMutual, Kbwfinancial

    Based on 111 openings.

  22. 22

    New Haven CT

    4%

    AI-skill openings
    11
    All openings
    285
    Median posted pay
    $130k

    Hiring most here: Yale University, Yale New Haven Health, Knights of Columbus

    Based on 285 openings.

  23. 23

    Worcester MA

    4%

    AI-skill openings
    6
    All openings
    157
    Median posted pay
    $111k

    Hiring most here: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Umass Memorial Health Care, Milford Regional Medical Center

    Based on 157 openings.

  24. 24

    Marlborough MA

    4%

    AI-skill openings
    9
    All openings
    252
    Median posted pay
    $129k

    Hiring most here: RTX, Hologic, Danaher

    Based on 252 openings.

  25. 25

    Providence RI

    2%

    AI-skill openings
    5
    All openings
    201
    Median posted pay
    $105k

    Hiring most here: Gilbane, Women and Infants Hospital, Brown University

    Based on 201 openings.

Full ranking

All 28 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Boston MA22%5,086
2Somerville MA22%282
3Lexington MA18%253
4Framingham MA17%207
5Waltham MA16%580
6Greenwich CT15%129
7Quincy MA14%256
8Cambridge MA13%1,275
9Norwood MA13%108
10Lowell MA13%143
11Watertown MA11%123
12Burlington MA10%268
13Stamford CT10%326
14Bedford MA9%193
15Westborough MA9%116
16Wilmington MA8%148
17Newton MA8%113
18Andover MA8%166
19Hartford CT6%350
20Portland ME6%191
21Springfield MA5%111
22New Haven CT4%285
23Worcester MA4%157
24Marlborough MA4%252
25Providence RI2%201
26Woburn MA2%172
27Manchester NH1%152
28Danbury CT0%101

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 100 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 in new england?
Boston leads New England for AI skills: 22% of its professional openings ask for them, against 13% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
28 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 28 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 in New England,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs-in-new-england

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

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

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