NextChapter

Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast

San Francisco leads the West Coast: 35% of its entry-level openings ask for AI skills, against 13% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 San Francisco, CA: 35%
  • #2 Mountain View, CA: 30%
  • #3 Palo Alto, CA: 28%
  • 55 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 13% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1San Francisco CA35%
  2. 2Mountain View CA30%
  3. 3Palo Alto CA28%
  4. 4Bellevue WA26%
  5. 5San Mateo CA24%
  6. 6Sunnyvale CA21%
  7. 7Menlo Park CA21%
  8. 8Santa Clara CA18%
  9. 9Seattle WA17%
  10. 10Redwood City CA17%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: San Francisco (35%) is well clear of Redwood City at #10 (17%).
  • Menlo Park reaches #7 on a sample of 75 entry-level openings, 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 2,312 entry-level openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 40 entry-level openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

Entry-level roles used to ask for little technical background. When they ask for AI skills, the starting line has moved. This list shows where that has happened most.

How to use it

If you are applying for first roles, learn the tools named in the postings you want and show a small project that uses them.

The top 25

  1. 1

    San Francisco CA

    35%

    Entry-level AI openings
    803
    Entry-level openings
    2,312
    All openings
    11,798

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 2,312 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  2. 2

    Mountain View CA

    30%

    Entry-level AI openings
    61
    Entry-level openings
    206
    All openings
    1,515

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google

    Based on 206 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mountain View

  3. 3

    Palo Alto CA

    28%

    Entry-level AI openings
    74
    Entry-level openings
    264
    All openings
    1,237

    Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care

    Based on 264 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Palo Alto

  4. 4

    Bellevue WA

    26%

    Entry-level AI openings
    69
    Entry-level openings
    268
    All openings
    1,396

    Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta

    Based on 268 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Bellevue

  5. 5

    San Mateo CA

    24%

    Entry-level AI openings
    35
    Entry-level openings
    147
    All openings
    894

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 147 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  6. 6

    Sunnyvale CA

    21%

    Entry-level AI openings
    69
    Entry-level openings
    323
    All openings
    1,556

    Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon

    Based on 323 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sunnyvale

  7. 7

    Menlo Park CA

    21%

    Entry-level AI openings
    16
    Entry-level openings
    75
    All openings
    437

    Hiring most here: Snowflake, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, Hippocratic AI

    Based on 75 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Menlo Park

  8. 8

    Santa Clara CA

    18%

    Entry-level AI openings
    47
    Entry-level openings
    262
    All openings
    1,530

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

    Based on 262 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Clara

  9. 9

    Seattle WA

    17%

    Entry-level AI openings
    212
    Entry-level openings
    1,216
    All openings
    5,343

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 1,216 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  10. 10

    Redwood City CA

    17%

    Entry-level AI openings
    14
    Entry-level openings
    82
    All openings
    471

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

    Based on 82 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Redwood City

  11. 11

    Foster CA

    15%

    Entry-level AI openings
    8
    Entry-level openings
    55
    All openings
    520

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences

    Based on 55 openings.

  12. 12

    San Jose CA

    13%

    Entry-level AI openings
    64
    Entry-level openings
    486
    All openings
    2,379

    Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems

    Based on 486 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Jose

  13. 13

    Santa Monica CA

    12%

    Entry-level AI openings
    7
    Entry-level openings
    57
    All openings
    307

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Snap, FIGS

    Based on 57 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Monica

  14. 14

    Pasadena CA

    12%

    Entry-level AI openings
    9
    Entry-level openings
    75
    All openings
    260

    Hiring most here: California Institute Of Technology, Kaiser Permanente, East West Bank

    Based on 75 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Pasadena

  15. 15

    Alameda CA

    11%

    Entry-level AI openings
    5
    Entry-level openings
    45
    All openings
    189

    Hiring most here: Saildrone, Penumbra, Kairos Power

    Based on 45 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Alameda

  16. 16

    Santa Barbara CA

    11%

    Entry-level AI openings
    5
    Entry-level openings
    46
    All openings
    147

    Hiring most here: AppFolio, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Arthrex

    Based on 46 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Barbara

  17. 17

    Culver City CA

    10%

    Entry-level AI openings
    6
    Entry-level openings
    58
    All openings
    243

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Scopely, Apple

    Based on 58 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Culver City

  18. 18

    El Segundo CA

    10%

    Entry-level AI openings
    26
    Entry-level openings
    255
    All openings
    949

    Hiring most here: Chaos Industries, Radiant, Varda Space Industries

    Based on 255 openings.

    Jobs and employers in El Segundo

  19. 19

    Redmond WA

    9%

    Entry-level AI openings
    35
    Entry-level openings
    400
    All openings
    1,147

    Hiring most here: Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft

    Based on 400 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Redmond

  20. 20

    San Diego CA

    8%

    Entry-level AI openings
    62
    Entry-level openings
    742
    All openings
    3,085

    Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics

    Based on 742 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Diego

  21. 21

    Fremont CA

    7%

    Entry-level AI openings
    8
    Entry-level openings
    119
    All openings
    470

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research

    Based on 119 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fremont

  22. 22

    Irvine CA

    7%

    Entry-level AI openings
    25
    Entry-level openings
    381
    All openings
    1,503

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, Rivian Automotive

    Based on 381 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irvine

  23. 23

    San Carlos CA

    7%

    Entry-level AI openings
    3
    Entry-level openings
    46
    All openings
    210

    Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera

    Based on 46 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Carlos

  24. 24

    Milpitas CA

    6%

    Entry-level AI openings
    4
    Entry-level openings
    62
    All openings
    257

    Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, KLA, Psiquantum

    Based on 62 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Milpitas

  25. 25

    Los Angeles CA

    6%

    Entry-level AI openings
    85
    Entry-level openings
    1,319
    All openings
    5,126

    Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space

    Based on 1,319 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

Full ranking

All 55 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1San Francisco CA35%2,312
2Mountain View CA30%206
3Palo Alto CA28%264
4Bellevue WA26%268
5San Mateo CA24%147
6Sunnyvale CA21%323
7Menlo Park CA21%75
8Santa Clara CA18%262
9Seattle WA17%1,216
10Redwood City CA17%82
11Foster CA15%55
12San Jose CA13%486
13Santa Monica CA12%57
14Pasadena CA12%75
15Alameda CA11%45
16Santa Barbara CA11%46
17Culver City CA10%58
18El Segundo CA10%255
19Redmond WA9%400
20San Diego CA8%742
21Fremont CA7%119
22Irvine CA7%381
23San Carlos CA7%46
24Milpitas CA6%62
25Los Angeles CA6%1,319
26Riverside CA6%64
27Santa Rosa CA5%57
28Everett WA4%46
29Hillsboro OR4%46
30Torrance CA4%194
31Long Beach CA4%271
32Oakland CA4%113
33Carlsbad CA3%64
34Newport Beach CA3%64
35Fresno CA3%79
36Spokane WA2%41
37Pleasanton CA2%43
38Glendale CA2%44
39Vancouver WA2%44
40Walnut Creek CA2%54
41Kent WA2%57
42Portland OR2%231
43Sacramento CA1%456
44Santa Ana CA0%86
45Anaheim CA0%62
46Bakersfield CA0%48
47Corona CA0%48
48Roseville CA0%48
49Salem OR0%47
50Orange CA0%46
51Stockton CA0%45
52Beverly Hills CA0%44
53Tacoma WA0%43
54Eugene OR0%40
55Kirkland WA0%40

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its entry-level and early-career roles whose posting names at least one AI skill or tool.

Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. A city where one employer posts at least half the openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.

Sample bar: cities with fewer than 40 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 entry-level jobs that want ai skills in the west coast?
San Francisco leads the West Coast: 35% of its entry-level openings ask for AI skills, against 13% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
55 cities have at least 40 entry-level openings, so the list has 55 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its entry-level and early-career roles whose posting names at least one AI skill or tool. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. A city where one employer posts at least half the 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 entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-entry-level-ai-jobs-in-the-west-coast

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-entry-level-ai-jobs-in-the-west-coast">Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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