NextChapter

Best cities for director and executive jobs in New England

Watertown leads New England for director and executive jobs: 53% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 26% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Watertown, MA: 53%
  • #2 Cambridge, MA: 46%
  • #3 Greenwich, CT: 35%
  • 28 cities ranked in New England
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 26% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Watertown MA53%
  2. 2Cambridge MA46%
  3. 3Greenwich CT35%
  4. 4Boston MA31%
  5. 5Newton MA30%
  6. 6Waltham MA29%
  7. 7Stamford CT28%
  8. 8Hartford CT27%
  9. 9Worcester MA26%
  10. 10Lexington MA25%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Watertown (53%) is well clear of Lexington at #10 (25%).
  • Newton reaches #5 on a sample of 113 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 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Watertown MA

    53%

    Director and above
    65
    All openings
    123
    Median posted pay
    $200k

    Hiring most here: Tutor Intelligence, Kymera Therapeutics, Treeline Biosciences

    Based on 123 openings.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    Greenwich CT

    35%

    Director and above
    45
    All openings
    129
    Median posted pay
    $140k

    Hiring most here: iCapital, AQR Capital, Berkley W R

    Based on 129 openings.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    Newton MA

    30%

    Director and above
    34
    All openings
    113
    Median posted pay
    $153k

    Hiring most here: Panera Brands, Siemens Healthineers, The RMR Group

    Based on 113 openings.

  6. 6

    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.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    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.

  9. 9

    Worcester MA

    26%

    Director and above
    41
    All openings
    157
    Median posted pay
    $111k

    Hiring most here: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Umass Memorial Health Care, Milford Regional Medical Center

    Based on 157 openings.

  10. 10

    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.

  11. 11

    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.

  12. 12

    Norwood MA

    24%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    108
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Moderna, Home Market Foods, Illinois Tool Works

    Based on 108 openings.

  13. 13

    Bedford MA

    24%

    Director and above
    46
    All openings
    193
    Median posted pay
    $157k

    Hiring most here: The MITRE, Stoke Therapeutics, Entegris

    Based on 193 openings.

  14. 14

    Providence RI

    23%

    Director and above
    46
    All openings
    201
    Median posted pay
    $105k

    Hiring most here: Gilbane, Women and Infants Hospital, Brown University

    Based on 201 openings.

  15. 15

    New Haven CT

    23%

    Director and above
    65
    All openings
    285
    Median posted pay
    $130k

    Hiring most here: Yale University, Yale New Haven Health, Knights of Columbus

    Based on 285 openings.

  16. 16

    Portland ME

    21%

    Director and above
    40
    All openings
    191
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Unum Group, BerryDunn, Kbwfinancial

    Based on 191 openings.

  17. 17

    Burlington MA

    20%

    Director and above
    54
    All openings
    268
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: State Street, Veracode, Vericel

    Based on 268 openings.

  18. 18

    Framingham MA

    20%

    Director and above
    41
    All openings
    207
    Median posted pay
    $123k

    Hiring most here: Staples, Bose, TJX Companies

    Based on 207 openings.

  19. 19

    Woburn MA

    19%

    Director and above
    33
    All openings
    172
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: RTX, Kbwfinancial, Spear Bio

    Based on 172 openings.

  20. 20

    Marlborough MA

    19%

    Director and above
    48
    All openings
    252
    Median posted pay
    $129k

    Hiring most here: RTX, Hologic, Danaher

    Based on 252 openings.

  21. 21

    Lowell MA

    19%

    Director and above
    27
    All openings
    143
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: Macom, UKG

    Based on 143 openings.

  22. 22

    Wilmington MA

    18%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    148
    Median posted pay
    $144k

    Hiring most here: Onto Innovation, L3HARRIS Technologies, Unifirst

    Based on 148 openings.

  23. 23

    Springfield MA

    14%

    Director and above
    15
    All openings
    111
    Median posted pay
    $91k

    Hiring most here: MassMutual, Kbwfinancial

    Based on 111 openings.

  24. 24

    Andover MA

    13%

    Director and above
    22
    All openings
    166
    Median posted pay
    $129k

    Hiring most here: RTX, TransMedics Group, Vicor

    Based on 166 openings.

  25. 25

    Manchester NH

    13%

    Director and above
    20
    All openings
    152
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: BAE Systems, Allegro Microsystems, Eversource Energy

    Based on 152 openings.

Full ranking

All 28 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Watertown MA53%123
2Cambridge MA46%1,275
3Greenwich CT35%129
4Boston MA31%5,086
5Newton MA30%113
6Waltham MA29%580
7Stamford CT28%326
8Hartford CT27%350
9Worcester MA26%157
10Lexington MA25%253
11Somerville MA25%282
12Norwood MA24%108
13Bedford MA24%193
14Providence RI23%201
15New Haven CT23%285
16Portland ME21%191
17Burlington MA20%268
18Framingham MA20%207
19Woburn MA19%172
20Marlborough MA19%252
21Lowell MA19%143
22Wilmington MA18%148
23Springfield MA14%111
24Andover MA13%166
25Manchester NH13%152
26Quincy MA13%256
27Westborough MA11%116
28Danbury CT7%101

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 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 director and executive jobs in new england?
Watertown leads New England for director and executive jobs: 53% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 26% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
28 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 28 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 in New England,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs-in-new-england

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

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