NextChapter

Best cities for AI-skill jobs in the Mid-Atlantic

Gaithersburg leads the Mid-Atlantic for AI skills: 28% 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 Gaithersburg, MD: 28%
  • #2 New York, NY: 21%
  • #3 Tysons, VA: 20%
  • 82 cities ranked in the Mid-Atlantic
  • Data as of November 2026

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

  1. 1Gaithersburg MD28%
  2. 2New York NY21%
  3. 3Tysons VA20%
  4. 4McLean VA17%
  5. 5Reston VA16%
  6. 6Jersey City NJ16%
  7. 7Arlington VA14%
  8. 8Silver Spring MD14%
  9. 9King of Prussia PA14%
  10. 10Princeton NJ14%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Gaithersburg (28%) is well clear of Princeton at #10 (14%).
  • Silver Spring reaches #8 on a sample of 100 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 20,410 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

    Gaithersburg MD

    28%

    AI-skill openings
    51
    All openings
    183
    Median posted pay
    $153k

    Hiring most here: Astrazeneca, Adventist Healthcare, Leidos

    Based on 183 openings.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    Tysons VA

    20%

    AI-skill openings
    38
    All openings
    189
    Median posted pay
    $126k

    Hiring most here: M.C. Dean, Alarm.com Holdings, LMI

    Based on 189 openings.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    Reston VA

    16%

    AI-skill openings
    128
    All openings
    782
    Median posted pay
    $160k

    Hiring most here: ICF International, CACI International, Anduril Industries

    Based on 782 openings.

  6. 6

    Jersey City NJ

    16%

    AI-skill openings
    96
    All openings
    610
    Median posted pay
    $155k

    Hiring most here: DTCC, Verisk Analytics, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 610 openings.

  7. 7

    Arlington VA

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    279
    All openings
    1,978
    Median posted pay
    $145k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group

    Based on 1,978 openings.

  8. 8

    Silver Spring MD

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    14
    All openings
    100
    Median posted pay
    $124k

    Hiring most here: Food and Drug Administration, Eagle Bancorp, Think Tank

    Based on 100 openings.

  9. 9

    King of Prussia PA

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    45
    All openings
    327
    Median posted pay
    $113k

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

    Based on 327 openings.

  10. 10

    Princeton NJ

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    53
    All openings
    391
    Median posted pay
    $178k

    Hiring most here: Genmab A/S, Otsuka, ZS Associates

    Based on 391 openings.

  11. 11

    Herndon VA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    109
    All openings
    820
    Median posted pay
    $161k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Peraton

    Based on 820 openings.

  12. 12

    Exton PA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    15
    All openings
    115
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: West Pharmaceutical Services, Bentley Systems

    Based on 115 openings.

  13. 13

    Horsham PA

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    12
    All openings
    106
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Hiring most here: Veeco Instruments, Coherent, Johnson & Johnson

    Based on 106 openings.

  14. 14

    Vienna VA

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    18
    All openings
    162
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: Esri, Navy Federal Credit Union, Antithesis

    Based on 162 openings.

  15. 15

    Washington DC

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    486
    All openings
    4,428
    Median posted pay
    $161k

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International

    Based on 4,428 openings.

  16. 16

    Wilmington DE

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    51
    All openings
    476
    Median posted pay
    $157k

    Hiring most here: Astrazeneca, Sargent & Lundy, CSC

    Based on 476 openings.

  17. 17

    Owings Mills MD

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    11
    All openings
    103
    Median posted pay
    $102k

    Hiring most here: Price T Rowe Group, Dewberry, RadNet

    Based on 103 openings.

  18. 18

    Bethesda MD

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    47
    All openings
    441
    Median posted pay
    $143k

    Hiring most here: Black Canyon Consulting, ZoomInfo, Leidos

    Based on 441 openings.

  19. 19

    Brooklyn NY

    11%

    AI-skill openings
    72
    All openings
    680
    Median posted pay
    $142k

    Hiring most here: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Williams-Sonoma, Altana AI

    Based on 680 openings.

  20. 20

    Newark NJ

    10%

    AI-skill openings
    42
    All openings
    426
    Median posted pay
    $124k

    Hiring most here: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Amazon, Audible

    Based on 426 openings.

  21. 21

    Piscataway NJ

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    11
    All openings
    116
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Colgate Palmolive, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Element Solutions

    Based on 116 openings.

  22. 22

    Chantilly VA

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    52
    All openings
    554
    Median posted pay
    $194k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, Trinzic, Peraton

    Based on 554 openings.

  23. 23

    Rockville MD

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    33
    All openings
    358
    Median posted pay
    $149k

    Hiring most here: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, The Emmes Company, BAE Systems

    Based on 358 openings.

  24. 24

    Annapolis Junction MD

    9%

    AI-skill openings
    18
    All openings
    204
    Median posted pay
    $146k

    Hiring most here: Peraton, General Dynamics Mission Systems, CACI International

    Based on 204 openings.

  25. 25

    Columbia MD

    8%

    AI-skill openings
    22
    All openings
    260
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: HII Mission Technologies, CACI International, Grace Therapeutics

    Based on 260 openings.

Full ranking

All 82 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Gaithersburg MD28%183
2New York NY21%20,410
3Tysons VA20%189
4McLean VA17%1,167
5Reston VA16%782
6Jersey City NJ16%610
7Arlington VA14%1,978
8Silver Spring MD14%100
9King of Prussia PA14%327
10Princeton NJ14%391
11Herndon VA13%820
12Exton PA13%115
13Horsham PA11%106
14Vienna VA11%162
15Washington DC11%4,428
16Wilmington DE11%476
17Owings Mills MD11%103
18Bethesda MD11%441
19Brooklyn NY11%680
20Newark NJ10%426
21Piscataway NJ9%116
22Chantilly VA9%554
23Rockville MD9%358
24Annapolis Junction MD9%204
25Columbia MD8%260
26Florham Park NJ8%131
27Bridgewater NJ8%133
28Malvern PA8%103
29Mc Lean VA8%234
30Hoboken NJ8%105
31Springfield VA7%269
32Ashburn VA7%257
33Fort Meade MD7%272
34White Plains NY7%221
35Falls Church VA7%168
36Iselin NJ7%131
37Fort Belvoir VA7%192
38Edison NJ7%120
39Pittsburgh PA7%1,534
40Hanover MD6%108
41Philadelphia PA6%1,852
42Albany NY6%365
43Fairfax VA6%407
44Alexandria VA6%576
45Baltimore MD6%1,063
46Morristown NJ6%212
47Reading PA6%196
48Sterling VA6%305
49Frederick MD6%163
50Conshohocken PA5%136
51Newark DE5%176
52Richmond VA5%1,133
53Buffalo NY5%415
54Secaucus NJ5%111
55Aberdeen MD4%101
56Camden NJ4%158
57Linthicum Heights MD4%107
58Norfolk VA4%327
59Berkeley Heights NJ4%114
60Charlottesville VA3%504
61Allentown PA3%213
62Queens NY3%103
63Rochester NY3%516
64Ithaca NY3%104
65Harrisburg PA3%261
66Annapolis MD3%375
67Lynchburg VA3%113
68Parsippany NJ3%230
69Virginia Beach VA2%255
70Chesapeake VA2%131
71Manassas VA2%228
72Syracuse NY2%397
73Melville NY2%152
74Hampton VA2%112
75Bronx NY2%185
76Lancaster PA1%159
77Roanoke VA1%177
78Bethlehem PA1%109
79United PA1%112
80York PA1%118
81Newport News VA0%144
82Mechanicsburg PA0%140

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 the mid-atlantic?
Gaithersburg leads the Mid-Atlantic for AI skills: 28% of its professional openings ask for them, against 13% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
82 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 82 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 the Mid-Atlantic,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs-in-the-mid-atlantic

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

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

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