NextChapter

Best cities for AI-skill jobs in the Northeast

Boston leads the Northeast for AI skills: 22% of its professional openings ask for them, against 14% 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 New York, NY: 21%
  • 68 cities ranked in the Northeast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 14% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Boston MA22%
  2. 2Somerville MA22%
  3. 3New York NY21%
  4. 4Lexington MA18%
  5. 5Framingham MA17%
  6. 6Jersey City NJ16%
  7. 7Waltham MA16%
  8. 8Greenwich CT15%
  9. 9Quincy MA14%
  10. 10King of Prussia PA14%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Boston (22%) is well clear of King of Prussia at #10 (14%).
  • Greenwich reaches #8 on a sample of 129 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

    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

    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.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    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.

  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

    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.

  8. 8

    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.

  9. 9

    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.

  10. 10

    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.

  11. 11

    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.

  12. 12

    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.

  13. 13

    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.

  14. 14

    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.

  15. 15

    Lowell MA

    13%

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

    Hiring most here: Macom, UKG

    Based on 143 openings.

  16. 16

    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.

  17. 17

    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.

  18. 18

    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.

  19. 19

    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.

  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

    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.

  22. 22

    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.

  23. 23

    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.

  24. 24

    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.

  25. 25

    Florham Park NJ

    8%

    AI-skill openings
    11
    All openings
    131
    Median posted pay
    $123k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, AbbVie, Shionogi

    Based on 131 openings.

Full ranking

All 68 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Boston MA22%5,086
2Somerville MA22%282
3New York NY21%20,410
4Lexington MA18%253
5Framingham MA17%207
6Jersey City NJ16%610
7Waltham MA16%580
8Greenwich CT15%129
9Quincy MA14%256
10King of Prussia PA14%327
11Princeton NJ14%391
12Cambridge MA13%1,275
13Exton PA13%115
14Norwood MA13%108
15Lowell MA13%143
16Watertown MA11%123
17Horsham PA11%106
18Brooklyn NY11%680
19Burlington MA10%268
20Newark NJ10%426
21Stamford CT10%326
22Piscataway NJ9%116
23Bedford MA9%193
24Westborough MA9%116
25Florham Park NJ8%131
26Bridgewater NJ8%133
27Wilmington MA8%148
28Newton MA8%113
29Andover MA8%166
30Malvern PA8%103
31Hoboken NJ8%105
32White Plains NY7%221
33Iselin NJ7%131
34Edison NJ7%120
35Pittsburgh PA7%1,534
36Philadelphia PA6%1,852
37Albany NY6%365
38Hartford CT6%350
39Portland ME6%191
40Morristown NJ6%212
41Reading PA6%196
42Springfield MA5%111
43Conshohocken PA5%136
44Buffalo NY5%415
45Secaucus NJ5%111
46New Haven CT4%285
47Worcester MA4%157
48Camden NJ4%158
49Marlborough MA4%252
50Berkeley Heights NJ4%114
51Allentown PA3%213
52Queens NY3%103
53Rochester NY3%516
54Ithaca NY3%104
55Harrisburg PA3%261
56Parsippany NJ3%230
57Providence RI2%201
58Woburn MA2%172
59Syracuse NY2%397
60Melville NY2%152
61Bronx NY2%185
62Lancaster PA1%159
63Bethlehem PA1%109
64United PA1%112
65York PA1%118
66Manchester NH1%152
67Mechanicsburg PA0%140
68Danbury 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 the northeast?
Boston leads the Northeast for AI skills: 22% of its professional openings ask for them, against 14% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
68 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 68 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 Northeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs-in-the-northeast

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

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

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