NextChapter

Best cities for director and executive jobs in the Southwest

Westlake leads the Southwest for director and executive jobs: 30% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 16% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Westlake, TX: 30%
  • #2 Addison, TX: 29%
  • #3 Denton, TX: 26%
  • 43 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 16% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Westlake TX30%
  2. 2Addison TX29%
  3. 3Denton TX26%
  4. 4Waco TX24%
  5. 5El Paso TX24%
  6. 6Richardson TX21%
  7. 7Dallas TX20%
  8. 8Irving TX20%
  9. 9Plano TX19%
  10. 10Abilene TX19%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Westlake leads on 30%, and #10 Abilene is at 19%.
  • Westlake reaches #1 on a sample of 109 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Dallas is the largest market in the top ten, with 4,379 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

    Westlake TX

    30%

    Director and above
    33
    All openings
    109
    Median posted pay
    $140k

    Hiring most here: Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Kiewit Infrastructure South

    Based on 109 openings.

  2. 2

    Addison TX

    29%

    Director and above
    56
    All openings
    196
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America

    Based on 196 openings.

  3. 3

    Denton TX

    26%

    Director and above
    45
    All openings
    175
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: University of North Texas System, Texas Woman's University, Paccar

    Based on 175 openings.

  4. 4

    Waco TX

    24%

    Director and above
    38
    All openings
    156
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Baylor University, L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund

    Based on 156 openings.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    Richardson TX

    21%

    Director and above
    85
    All openings
    404
    Median posted pay
    $105k

    Hiring most here: Celestica, Qorvo, OSI Systems

    Based on 404 openings.

  7. 7

    Dallas TX

    20%

    Director and above
    889
    All openings
    4,379
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 4,379 openings.

  8. 8

    Irving TX

    20%

    Director and above
    174
    All openings
    875
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: CHRISTUS Health, 7-Eleven, Mckesson

    Based on 875 openings.

  9. 9

    Plano TX

    19%

    Director and above
    207
    All openings
    1,066
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 1,066 openings.

  10. 10

    Abilene TX

    19%

    Director and above
    28
    All openings
    145
    Median posted pay
    $148k

    Hiring most here: Oracle, Hendrick Health, Kiewit Infrastructure South

    Based on 145 openings.

  11. 11

    Frisco TX

    19%

    Director and above
    34
    All openings
    182
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: Baker Tilly, The Haskell Company, Intuit

    Based on 182 openings.

  12. 12

    Las Vegas NV

    19%

    Director and above
    171
    All openings
    917
    Median posted pay
    $106k

    Hiring most here: Caesars Entertainment, Allegiant Travel Company, Jt4

    Based on 917 openings.

  13. 13

    Coppell TX

    17%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    151
    Median posted pay
    $141k

    Hiring most here: Blue Yonder, At Home, Charter Communications

    Based on 151 openings.

  14. 14

    Austin TX

    17%

    Director and above
    1,007
    All openings
    5,890
    Median posted pay
    $163k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 5,890 openings.

  15. 15

    Corpus Christi TX

    17%

    Director and above
    20
    All openings
    118
    Median posted pay
    $80k

    Hiring most here: CHRISTUS Health, American Electric Power, Veterans Health Administration

    Based on 118 openings.

  16. 16

    Fort Worth TX

    17%

    Director and above
    207
    All openings
    1,248
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, MP Materials, Alcon

    Based on 1,248 openings.

  17. 17

    Phoenix AZ

    16%

    Director and above
    436
    All openings
    2,743
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology

    Based on 2,743 openings.

  18. 18

    Mesa AZ

    16%

    Director and above
    30
    All openings
    193
    Median posted pay
    $121k

    Hiring most here: Emcor, Legends / ASM Global, Amazon

    Based on 193 openings.

  19. 19

    The Woodlands TX

    15%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    168
    Median posted pay
    $130k

    Hiring most here: Entergy, Waste Connections, Crane

    Based on 168 openings.

  20. 20

    Lewisville TX

    15%

    Director and above
    20
    All openings
    130
    Median posted pay
    $80k

    Hiring most here: Moonshot, Paccar, Quest Diagnostics

    Based on 130 openings.

  21. 21

    Tucson AZ

    15%

    Director and above
    110
    All openings
    716
    Median posted pay
    $102k

    Hiring most here: RTX, University of Arizona, Pima County

    Based on 716 openings.

  22. 22

    Reno NV

    15%

    Director and above
    45
    All openings
    299
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 299 openings.

  23. 23

    Scottsdale AZ

    15%

    Director and above
    113
    All openings
    756
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Axon Enterprise, AMI Semiconductor

    Based on 756 openings.

  24. 24

    San Antonio TX

    15%

    Director and above
    188
    All openings
    1,267
    Median posted pay
    $110k

    Hiring most here: H-E-B, University Health San Antonio, UT Health San Antonio

    Based on 1,267 openings.

  25. 25

    Houston TX

    14%

    Director and above
    614
    All openings
    4,295
    Median posted pay
    $118k

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 4,295 openings.

Full ranking

All 43 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Westlake TX30%109
2Addison TX29%196
3Denton TX26%175
4Waco TX24%156
5El Paso TX24%305
6Richardson TX21%404
7Dallas TX20%4,379
8Irving TX20%875
9Plano TX19%1,066
10Abilene TX19%145
11Frisco TX19%182
12Las Vegas NV19%917
13Coppell TX17%151
14Austin TX17%5,890
15Corpus Christi TX17%118
16Fort Worth TX17%1,248
17Phoenix AZ16%2,743
18Mesa AZ16%193
19The Woodlands TX15%168
20Lewisville TX15%130
21Tucson AZ15%716
22Reno NV15%299
23Scottsdale AZ15%756
24San Antonio TX15%1,267
25Houston TX14%4,295
26Tyler TX14%140
27Oklahoma City OK13%564
28Arlington TX13%197
29Amarillo TX13%132
30Tempe AZ13%671
31Sugar Land TX12%125
32Spring TX12%342
33Katy TX12%113
34Chandler AZ11%470
35Tulsa OK11%474
36Carrollton TX11%128
37Midland TX10%158
38Grand Prairie TX10%196
39Sparks NV9%121
40Albuquerque NM9%361
41Gilbert AZ8%122
42Brownsville TX6%109
43Lubbock TX6%127

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 the southwest?
Westlake leads the Southwest for director and executive jobs: 30% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 16% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
43 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 43 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 the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs-in-the-southwest

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

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