Best cities for energy and utilities 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 Houston, TX: 704 openings
- #2 Austin, TX: 268 openings
- #3 New York, NY: 206 openings
- 27 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
- 1Houston TX704 openings
- 2Austin TX268 openings
- 3New York NY206 openings
- 4Chicago IL161 openings
- 5San Francisco CA146 openings
- 6Denver CO145 openings
- 7Oakbrook Terrace IL103 openings
- 8Washington DC92 openings
- 9Berkeley CA91 openings
- 10Oakland CA86 openings
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Houston (704 openings) is well clear of Oakland at #10 (86 openings).
- Houston is the largest market in the top ten, with 704 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
Houston TX
704 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 16%
- Median posted pay
- $143k
- All openings in the city
- 4,330
Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy
Based on 704 openings.
- 2
Austin TX
268 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $158k
- All openings in the city
- 5,903
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 268 openings.
- 3
New York NY
206 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $171k
- All openings in the city
- 20,589
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 206 openings.
- 4
Chicago IL
161 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $118k
- All openings in the city
- 7,607
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 161 openings.
- 5
San Francisco CA
146 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $175k
- All openings in the city
- 11,798
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 146 openings.
- 6
Denver CO
145 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $141k
- All openings in the city
- 2,867
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 145 openings.
- 7
Oakbrook Terrace IL
103 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 73%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 142
Hiring most here: Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco Holdings, Exelon
Based on 103 openings.
- 8
Washington DC
92 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $135k
- All openings in the city
- 4,457
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI
Based on 92 openings.
- 9
Berkeley CA
91 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 38%
- Median posted pay
- $166k
- All openings in the city
- 238
Hiring most here: Form Energy, University of California, Berkeley, Rigetti Computing
Based on 91 openings.
- 10
Oakland CA
86 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 15%
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- All openings in the city
- 581
Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, Blue Shield of California, Fivetran
Based on 86 openings.
- 11
Bellevue WA
85 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 6%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 1,396
Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta
Based on 85 openings.
- 12
Atlanta GA
83 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $131k
- All openings in the city
- 5,566
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 83 openings.
- 13
Dallas TX
83 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 4,429
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 83 openings.
- 14
Columbus OH
80 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $112k
- All openings in the city
- 1,892
Hiring most here: State of Ohio, Nationwide, Ohio State University-Newark Campus
Based on 80 openings.
- 15
El Segundo CA
72 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 8%
- Median posted pay
- $162k
- All openings in the city
- 949
Hiring most here: Chaos Industries, Radiant, Varda Space Industries
Based on 72 openings.
- 16
Spring TX
65 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 19%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 342
Hiring most here: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP, Juniper Networks
Based on 65 openings.
- 17
Akron OH
62 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 20%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 308
Hiring most here: FirstEnergy Akron, Babcock International Group PLC/ADR, Akron Childrens Hospital
Based on 62 openings.
- 18
Phoenix AZ
61 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 61 openings.
- 19
Louisville KY
59 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $119k
- All openings in the city
- 2,064
Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances
Based on 59 openings.
- 20
Torrance CA
59 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 8%
- Median posted pay
- $178k
- All openings in the city
- 735
Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros
Based on 59 openings.
- 21
White Plains NY
59 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 27%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 222
Hiring most here: New York Power Authority, FormativGroup, RWE Clean Energy
Based on 59 openings.
- 22
San Diego CA
55 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $155k
- All openings in the city
- 3,085
Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics
Based on 55 openings.
- 23
Seattle WA
54 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $200k
- All openings in the city
- 5,343
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 54 openings.
- 24
Everett WA
53 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 28%
- Median posted pay
- $199k
- All openings in the city
- 186
Hiring most here: Helion Energy, Fortive, TerraPower
Based on 53 openings.
- 25
The Woodlands TX
52 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 31%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 167
Hiring most here: Entergy, Waste Connections, Crane
Based on 52 openings.
Full ranking
All 27 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston TX | 704 openings | 704 |
| 2 | Austin TX | 268 openings | 268 |
| 3 | New York NY | 206 openings | 206 |
| 4 | Chicago IL | 161 openings | 161 |
| 5 | San Francisco CA | 146 openings | 146 |
| 6 | Denver CO | 145 openings | 145 |
| 7 | Oakbrook Terrace IL | 103 openings | 103 |
| 8 | Washington DC | 92 openings | 92 |
| 9 | Berkeley CA | 91 openings | 91 |
| 10 | Oakland CA | 86 openings | 86 |
| 11 | Bellevue WA | 85 openings | 85 |
| 12 | Atlanta GA | 83 openings | 83 |
| 13 | Dallas TX | 83 openings | 83 |
| 14 | Columbus OH | 80 openings | 80 |
| 15 | El Segundo CA | 72 openings | 72 |
| 16 | Spring TX | 65 openings | 65 |
| 17 | Akron OH | 62 openings | 62 |
| 18 | Phoenix AZ | 61 openings | 61 |
| 19 | Louisville KY | 59 openings | 59 |
| 20 | Torrance CA | 59 openings | 59 |
| 21 | White Plains NY | 59 openings | 59 |
| 22 | San Diego CA | 55 openings | 55 |
| 23 | Seattle WA | 54 openings | 54 |
| 24 | Everett WA | 53 openings | 53 |
| 25 | The Woodlands TX | 52 openings | 52 |
| 26 | Minneapolis MN | 50 openings | 50 |
| 27 | Redwood City CA | 50 openings | 50 |
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 energy and utilities jobs?
- Houston has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 704 openings.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 27 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 27 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 energy and utilities jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-energy-and-utilities-jobs
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-energy-and-utilities-jobs">Best cities for energy and utilities jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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