Best cities for data and analytics pay after cost of living
Key facts
- #1 Foster, CA: $232k
- #2 San Mateo, CA: $231k
- #3 Sunnyvale, CA: $213k
- 28 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $180k across the typical city in our data.
- 1Foster CA$232k
- 2San Mateo CA$231k
- 3Sunnyvale CA$213k
- 4Palo Alto CA$207k
- 5San Francisco CA$206k
- 6San Jose CA$204k
- 7Mountain View CA$201k
- 8Santa Clara CA$199k
- 9Redmond WA$195k
- 10Ann Arbor MI$191k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Foster leads on $232k, and #10 Ann Arbor is at $191k.
- Foster reaches #1 on a sample of 24 openings with pay posted, 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 659 openings with pay posted behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
The top 25
- 1
Foster CA
$232k
- Median posted pay
- $257k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences
Based on 24 openings.
- 2
San Mateo CA
$231k
- Median posted pay
- $267k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 70
Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio
Based on 70 openings.
- 3
Sunnyvale CA
$213k
- Median posted pay
- $236k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 62
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon
Based on 62 openings.
- 4
Palo Alto CA
$207k
- Median posted pay
- $228k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 45
Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care
Based on 45 openings.
- 5
San Francisco CA
$206k
- Median posted pay
- $239k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 659
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 659 openings.
- 6
San Jose CA
$204k
- Median posted pay
- $225k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 30
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 30 openings.
- 7
Mountain View CA
$201k
- Median posted pay
- $222k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 130
Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google
Based on 130 openings.
- 8
Santa Clara CA
$199k
- Median posted pay
- $220k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 68
Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon
Based on 68 openings.
- 9
Redmond WA
$195k
- Median posted pay
- $209k
- State prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft
Based on 24 openings.
- 10
Ann Arbor MI
$191k
- Median posted pay
- $184k
- State prices vs US average
- −4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 28
Hiring most here: May Mobility, Torc Robotics, Thomson Reuters
Based on 28 openings.
- 11
Bellevue WA
$190k
- Median posted pay
- $203k
- State prices vs US average
- +7%
- Openings with pay posted
- 22
Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta
Based on 22 openings.
- 12
Cambridge MA
$188k
- Median posted pay
- $198k
- State prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 29
Hiring most here: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Harvard University, Biogen
Based on 29 openings.
- 13
Austin TX
$184k
- Median posted pay
- $181k
- Local prices vs US average
- −2%
- Openings with pay posted
- 70
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 70 openings.
- 14
McLean VA
$184k
- Median posted pay
- $186k
- State prices vs US average
- +1%
- Openings with pay posted
- 32
Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk
Based on 32 openings.
- 15
Boston MA
$179k
- Median posted pay
- $194k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 120
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 120 openings.
- 16
New York NY
$176k
- Median posted pay
- $198k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 46
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 46 openings.
- 17
Dallas TX
$175k
- Median posted pay
- $180k
- Local prices vs US average
- +3%
- Openings with pay posted
- 33
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 33 openings.
- 18
Seattle WA
$171k
- Median posted pay
- $190k
- Local prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 95
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 95 openings.
- 19
New York NY
$169k
- Median posted pay
- $190k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 497
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 497 openings.
- 20
Los Angeles CA
$157k
- Median posted pay
- $178k
- Local prices vs US average
- +14%
- Openings with pay posted
- 47
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 47 openings.
- 21
Chicago IL
$150k
- Median posted pay
- $155k
- Local prices vs US average
- +4%
- Openings with pay posted
- 91
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 91 openings.
- 22
Arlington VA
$148k
- Median posted pay
- $150k
- State prices vs US average
- +1%
- Openings with pay posted
- 53
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 53 openings.
- 23
San Diego CA
$147k
- Median posted pay
- $165k
- Local prices vs US average
- +12%
- Openings with pay posted
- 31
Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics
Based on 31 openings.
- 24
Denver CO
$145k
- Median posted pay
- $154k
- Local prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 54
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 54 openings.
- 25
Atlanta GA
$144k
- Median posted pay
- $144k
- Local prices vs US average
- +0%
- Openings with pay posted
- 44
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 44 openings.
Full ranking
All 28 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foster CA | $232k | 24 |
| 2 | San Mateo CA | $231k | 70 |
| 3 | Sunnyvale CA | $213k | 62 |
| 4 | Palo Alto CA | $207k | 45 |
| 5 | San Francisco CA | $206k | 659 |
| 6 | San Jose CA | $204k | 30 |
| 7 | Mountain View CA | $201k | 130 |
| 8 | Santa Clara CA | $199k | 68 |
| 9 | Redmond WA | $195k | 24 |
| 10 | Ann Arbor MI | $191k | 28 |
| 11 | Bellevue WA | $190k | 22 |
| 12 | Cambridge MA | $188k | 29 |
| 13 | Austin TX | $184k | 70 |
| 14 | McLean VA | $184k | 32 |
| 15 | Boston MA | $179k | 120 |
| 16 | New York NY | $176k | 46 |
| 17 | Dallas TX | $175k | 33 |
| 18 | Seattle WA | $171k | 95 |
| 19 | New York NY | $169k | 497 |
| 20 | Los Angeles CA | $157k | 47 |
| 21 | Chicago IL | $150k | 91 |
| 22 | Arlington VA | $148k | 53 |
| 23 | San Diego CA | $147k | 31 |
| 24 | Denver CO | $145k | 54 |
| 25 | Atlanta GA | $144k | 44 |
| 26 | Irvine CA | $143k | 22 |
| 27 | Charlotte NC | $142k | 40 |
| 28 | Washington DC | $138k | 95 |
How this ranking works
The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the family that post a salary are ranked.
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 30 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states). 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 data and analytics pay after cost of living?
- Foster leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $232k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 28 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 28 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the family that post a salary are ranked. 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 data and analytics pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-data-and-analytics-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-data-and-analytics-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for data and analytics pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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