NextChapter

Best cities for director and executive jobs

Cambridge leads the United States for director and executive jobs: 46% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 18% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Cambridge, MA: 46%
  • #2 Princeton, NJ: 42%
  • #3 Foster City, CA: 38%
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 18% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Cambridge MA46%
  2. 2Princeton NJ42%
  3. 3Foster City CA38%
  4. 4Morristown NJ33%
  5. 5Boston MA31%
  6. 6Eden Prairie MN31%
  7. 7Waltham MA29%
  8. 8Redwood City CA29%
  9. 9Brooklyn NY28%
  10. 10Stamford CT28%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Cambridge (46%) is well clear of Stamford at #10 (28%).
  • Morristown reaches #4 on a sample of 212 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Boston is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,086 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 200 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Cambridge MA

    46%

    Director and above
    591
    All openings
    1,275
    Median posted pay
    $197k

    Hiring most here: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Harvard University, Biogen

    Based on 1,275 openings.

  2. 2

    Princeton NJ

    42%

    Director and above
    164
    All openings
    391
    Median posted pay
    $178k

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

    Based on 391 openings.

  3. 3

    Foster City CA

    38%

    Director and above
    195
    All openings
    520
    Median posted pay
    $230k

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit

    Based on 520 openings.

  4. 4

    Morristown NJ

    33%

    Director and above
    69
    All openings
    212
    Median posted pay
    $130k

    Hiring most here: Atlantic Health System, Crum & Forster, Sanofi-aventis Patient Assistance Foundation

    Based on 212 openings.

  5. 5

    Boston MA

    31%

    Director and above
    1,585
    All openings
    5,086
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 5,086 openings.

  6. 6

    Eden Prairie MN

    31%

    Director and above
    98
    All openings
    318
    Median posted pay
    $136k

    Hiring most here: Unitedhealth Group, LHC Group, Illinois Tool Works

    Based on 318 openings.

  7. 7

    Waltham MA

    29%

    Director and above
    171
    All openings
    580
    Median posted pay
    $194k

    Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry

    Based on 580 openings.

  8. 8

    Redwood City CA

    29%

    Director and above
    134
    All openings
    470
    Median posted pay
    $187k

    Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI

    Based on 470 openings.

  9. 9

    Brooklyn NY

    28%

    Director and above
    190
    All openings
    680
    Median posted pay
    $142k

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

    Based on 680 openings.

  10. 10

    Stamford CT

    28%

    Director and above
    91
    All openings
    326
    Median posted pay
    $128k

    Hiring most here: Philip Morris International, Gartner, Oak Ridge Legal Search

    Based on 326 openings.

  11. 11

    Jersey City NJ

    27%

    Director and above
    164
    All openings
    610
    Median posted pay
    $155k

    Hiring most here: DTCC, Verisk Analytics, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 610 openings.

  12. 12

    Hartford CT

    27%

    Director and above
    94
    All openings
    350
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: CVS HEALTH, Hartford HealthCare, Eversource Energy

    Based on 350 openings.

  13. 13

    New York NY

    27%

    Director and above
    5,456
    All openings
    20,410
    Median posted pay
    $165k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 20,410 openings.

  14. 14

    Wilmington DE

    26%

    Director and above
    126
    All openings
    476
    Median posted pay
    $157k

    Hiring most here: Astrazeneca, Sargent & Lundy, CSC

    Based on 476 openings.

  15. 15

    Durham NC

    26%

    Director and above
    204
    All openings
    775
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: Duke University, Duke Health Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, GSK

    Based on 775 openings.

  16. 16

    Philadelphia PA

    26%

    Director and above
    480
    All openings
    1,852
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, GSK

    Based on 1,852 openings.

  17. 17

    Mundelein IL

    26%

    Director and above
    63
    All openings
    247
    Median posted pay
    $136k

    Hiring most here: Coda Search│Staffing

    Based on 247 openings.

  18. 18

    Lexington MA

    25%

    Director and above
    64
    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.

  19. 19

    Somerville MA

    25%

    Director and above
    71
    All openings
    282
    Median posted pay
    $145k

    Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines

    Based on 282 openings.

  20. 20

    Washington DC

    25%

    Director and above
    1,085
    All openings
    4,428
    Median posted pay
    $161k

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

    Based on 4,428 openings.

  21. 21

    Coral Gables FL

    24%

    Director and above
    61
    All openings
    252
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Baptist Health South Florida, City National Bank of Florida

    Based on 252 openings.

  22. 22

    Parsippany NJ

    24%

    Director and above
    55
    All openings
    230
    Median posted pay
    $145k

    Hiring most here: Langan, Ferrero North America, Dewberry

    Based on 230 openings.

  23. 23

    Chicago IL

    24%

    Director and above
    1,808
    All openings
    7,617
    Median posted pay
    $134k

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 7,617 openings.

  24. 24

    El Paso TX

    24%

    Director and above
    72
    All openings
    305
    Median posted pay
    $94k

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Tenet Healthcare, Faith Technologies

    Based on 305 openings.

  25. 25

    Santa Clara CA

    23%

    Director and above
    350
    All openings
    1,522
    Median posted pay
    $208k

    Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon

    Based on 1,522 openings.

Full ranking

All 100 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Cambridge MA46%1,275
2Princeton NJ42%391
3Foster City CA38%520
4Morristown NJ33%212
5Boston MA31%5,086
6Eden Prairie MN31%318
7Waltham MA29%580
8Redwood City CA29%470
9Brooklyn NY28%680
10Stamford CT28%326
11Jersey City NJ27%610
12Hartford CT27%350
13New York NY27%20,410
14Wilmington DE26%476
15Durham NC26%775
16Philadelphia PA26%1,852
17Mundelein IL26%247
18Lexington MA25%253
19Somerville MA25%282
20Washington DC25%4,428
21Coral Gables FL24%252
22Parsippany NJ24%230
23Chicago IL24%7,617
24El Paso TX24%305
25Santa Clara CA23%1,522
26Providence RI23%201
27New Haven CT23%285
28Newport Beach CA23%285
29Newark NJ23%426
30Santa Monica CA22%307
31Oakland CA22%577
32Miami FL22%2,311
33Rockville MD22%358
34Sacramento CA22%1,362
35Mc Lean VA22%234
36New Orleans LA22%372
37San Diego CA22%3,082
38Jacksonville FL22%1,055
39Los Angeles CA21%5,101
40San Jose CA21%2,383
41Richardson TX21%404
42Charlottesville VA21%504
43Menlo Park CA21%439
44Indianapolis IN20%1,418
45Dallas TX20%4,379
46Berkeley CA20%238
47Burlington MA20%268
48Detroit MI20%740
49San Mateo CA20%887
50Irving TX20%875
51Framingham MA20%207
52Chattanooga TN20%208
53Knoxville TN20%446
54Plano TX19%1,066
55Marlborough MA19%252
56Atlanta GA19%5,502
57Culver City CA19%242
58Baltimore MD19%1,063
59Lehi UT19%254
60Minneapolis MN19%1,285
61Tallahassee FL19%739
62Las Vegas NV19%917
63Cary NC18%229
64Irvine CA18%1,505
65Nashville TN18%1,654
66Bethesda MD18%441
67San Francisco CA18%11,776
68Syracuse NY17%397
69Memphis TN17%718
70Lexington KY17%221
71Austin TX17%5,890
72Des Moines IA17%365
73Portland OR17%785
74Milwaukee WI17%825
75Fort Worth TX17%1,248
76Broomfield CO16%285
77Fort Lauderdale FL16%565
78Palo Alto CA16%1,234
79McLean VA16%1,167
80Denver CO16%2,885
81Pasadena CA16%257
82Phoenix AZ16%2,743
83Salt Lake City UT16%1,045
84St. Louis MO16%529
85Tampa FL16%1,717
86Fairfax VA16%407
87Charlotte NC16%3,201
88Birmingham AL15%584
89Tucson AZ15%716
90Albany NY15%365
91Raleigh NC15%1,421
92Madison WI15%515
93Harrisburg PA15%261
94Carlsbad CA15%298
95Melbourne FL15%305
96Reno NV15%299
97Reston VA15%782
98Scottsdale AZ15%756
99San Antonio TX15%1,267
100Springfield IL15%280

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at director, senior manager, vice president, head-of or C-suite level, read from the full posting text.

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 200 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 director and executive jobs?
Cambridge leads the United States for director and executive jobs: 46% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 18% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 200 openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at director, senior manager, vice president, head-of or C-suite level, read from the full posting text. 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 director and executive jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs">Best cities for director and executive jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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