Best cities for construction and real estate jobs
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 New York, NY: 346 openings
- #2 Dallas, TX: 170 openings
- #3 Chicago, IL: 126 openings
- 13 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
- 1New York NY346 openings
- 2Dallas TX170 openings
- 3Chicago IL126 openings
- 4Austin TX120 openings
- 5Atlanta GA106 openings
- 6Los Angeles CA106 openings
- 7Houston TX105 openings
- 8Charlotte NC76 openings
- 9San Francisco CA75 openings
- 10Seattle WA70 openings
What stands out
- The lead is wide: New York (346 openings) is well clear of Seattle at #10 (70 openings).
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 346 openings behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 50 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Each industry hires in a different set of cities. Counting an industry's open roles by city shows where its demand is deepest, which is where its employers, recruiters and professional events are concentrated.
How to use it
If you work in this industry, look at the top cities for the employers to follow and the networks to join. A large market also means more competition, so read it with the pay list for the same industry.
The top 25
- 1
New York NY
346 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $120k
- All openings in the city
- 20,589
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 346 openings.
- 2
Dallas TX
170 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $124k
- All openings in the city
- 4,429
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 170 openings.
- 3
Chicago IL
126 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $110k
- All openings in the city
- 7,607
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 126 openings.
- 4
Austin TX
120 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $171k
- All openings in the city
- 5,903
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 120 openings.
- 5
Atlanta GA
106 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $130k
- All openings in the city
- 5,566
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 106 openings.
- 6
Los Angeles CA
106 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $115k
- All openings in the city
- 5,126
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 106 openings.
- 7
Houston TX
105 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $93k
- All openings in the city
- 4,330
Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy
Based on 105 openings.
- 8
Charlotte NC
76 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $133k
- All openings in the city
- 3,198
Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas
Based on 76 openings.
- 9
San Francisco CA
75 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $130k
- All openings in the city
- 11,798
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 75 openings.
- 10
Seattle WA
70 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $124k
- All openings in the city
- 5,343
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 70 openings.
- 11
Boston MA
69 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $159k
- All openings in the city
- 5,143
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 69 openings.
- 12
Washington DC
62 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $95k
- All openings in the city
- 4,457
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI
Based on 62 openings.
- 13
Phoenix AZ
56 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 2,749
Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology
Based on 56 openings.
Full ranking
All 13 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York NY | 346 openings | 346 |
| 2 | Dallas TX | 170 openings | 170 |
| 3 | Chicago IL | 126 openings | 126 |
| 4 | Austin TX | 120 openings | 120 |
| 5 | Atlanta GA | 106 openings | 106 |
| 6 | Los Angeles CA | 106 openings | 106 |
| 7 | Houston TX | 105 openings | 105 |
| 8 | Charlotte NC | 76 openings | 76 |
| 9 | San Francisco CA | 75 openings | 75 |
| 10 | Seattle WA | 70 openings | 70 |
| 11 | Boston MA | 69 openings | 69 |
| 12 | Washington DC | 62 openings | 62 |
| 13 | Phoenix AZ | 56 openings | 56 |
How this ranking works
A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do.
Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.
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 50 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 construction and real estate jobs?
- New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 346 openings.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 13 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 13 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. 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 construction and real estate jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-construction-and-real-estate-jobs
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-construction-and-real-estate-jobs">Best cities for construction and real estate jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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