NextChapter

Best cities for AI-skill jobs in the West Coast

Mountain View leads the West Coast for AI skills: 45% of its professional openings ask for them, against 21% 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%
  • 68 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 21% 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. 6Sunnyvale CA29%
  7. 7Santa Clara CA28%
  8. 8Bellevue WA28%
  9. 9Redwood City CA26%
  10. 10Seattle WA26%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Mountain View (45%) is well clear of Seattle at #10 (26%).
  • Menlo Park reaches #5 on a sample of 439 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 100 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

    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.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    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.

  9. 9

    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.

  10. 10

    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.

  11. 11

    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.

  12. 12

    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.

  13. 13

    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.

  14. 14

    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.

  15. 15

    Newark CA

    20%

    AI-skill openings
    25
    All openings
    128
    Median posted pay
    $171k

    Hiring most here: Lucid Motors, Applied Industrial Technologies, Stratus Technologies

    Based on 128 openings.

  16. 16

    Burbank CA

    18%

    AI-skill openings
    29
    All openings
    158
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Hiring most here: Paramount, Crane, Warner Bros. Discovery

    Based on 158 openings.

  17. 17

    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.

  18. 18

    Oakland CA

    17%

    AI-skill openings
    98
    All openings
    577
    Median posted pay
    $180k

    Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, Blue Shield of California, Fivetran

    Based on 577 openings.

  19. 19

    San Carlos CA

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    30
    All openings
    211
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera

    Based on 211 openings.

  20. 20

    Milpitas CA

    14%

    AI-skill openings
    35
    All openings
    256
    Median posted pay
    $160k

    Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, KLA, Psiquantum

    Based on 256 openings.

  21. 21

    San Diego CA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    386
    All openings
    3,082
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics

    Based on 3,082 openings.

  22. 22

    Emeryville CA

    13%

    AI-skill openings
    14
    All openings
    112
    Median posted pay
    $184k

    Hiring most here: Profluent, Eko

    Based on 112 openings.

  23. 23

    Fremont CA

    12%

    AI-skill openings
    59
    All openings
    473
    Median posted pay
    $175k

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research

    Based on 473 openings.

  24. 24

    Santa Barbara CA

    12%

    AI-skill openings
    18
    All openings
    147
    Median posted pay
    $164k

    Hiring most here: AppFolio, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Arthrex

    Based on 147 openings.

  25. 25

    Irvine CA

    12%

    AI-skill openings
    175
    All openings
    1,505
    Median posted pay
    $157k

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, St Edwards University

    Based on 1,505 openings.

Full ranking

All 68 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
6Sunnyvale CA29%1,555
7Santa Clara CA28%1,522
8Bellevue WA28%1,395
9Redwood City CA26%470
10Seattle WA26%5,347
11Foster City CA24%520
12San Jose CA23%2,383
13Culver City CA22%242
14Santa Monica CA21%307
15Newark CA20%128
16Burbank CA18%158
17Redmond WA18%1,150
18Oakland CA17%577
19San Carlos CA14%211
20Milpitas CA14%256
21San Diego CA13%3,082
22Emeryville CA13%112
23Fremont CA12%473
24Santa Barbara CA12%147
25Irvine CA12%1,505
26Renton WA12%130
27Pasadena CA11%257
28Santa Ana CA11%256
29El Segundo CA10%946
30Pleasanton CA10%174
31Kirkland WA10%158
32Los Angeles CA10%5,101
33Alameda CA9%189
34Santa Rosa CA9%151
35Bothell WA9%129
36San Leandro CA8%101
37Vancouver WA8%153
38Berkeley CA8%238
39Carlsbad CA7%298
40Newport Beach CA7%285
41Everett WA6%185
42Goleta CA6%101
43Roseville CA5%165
44Glendale CA5%184
45Tacoma WA5%119
46Torrance CA5%735
47Hayward CA5%105
48Long Beach CA5%838
49Hillsboro OR4%183
50Portland OR4%785
51Livermore CA3%102
52Salem OR3%118
53Walnut Creek CA2%170
54Riverside CA2%173
55Sacramento CA2%1,362
56Beverly Hills CA2%142
57Huntington Beach CA2%100
58Bakersfield CA2%111
59Beaverton OR2%111
60Palmdale CA2%124
61Orange CA2%133
62Corona CA1%143
63Fresno CA1%197
64Eugene OR1%110
65Spokane WA1%140
66Kent WA1%146
67Anaheim CA0%171
68Stockton CA0%115

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 west coast?
Mountain View leads the West Coast for AI skills: 45% of its professional openings ask for them, against 21% 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 West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-ai-jobs-in-the-west-coast

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

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

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