NextChapter

Best cities for government jobs

New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 727 openings.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 New York, NY: 727 openings
  • #2 Washington, DC: 546 openings
  • #3 Phoenix, AZ: 185 openings
  • 26 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1New York NY727 openings
  2. 2Washington DC546 openings
  3. 3Phoenix AZ185 openings
  4. 4Tallahassee FL143 openings
  5. 5Arlington VA130 openings
  6. 6Atlanta GA127 openings
  7. 7Los Angeles CA127 openings
  8. 8Chicago IL119 openings
  9. 9Dallas TX109 openings
  10. 10San Francisco CA108 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: New York (727 openings) is well clear of San Francisco at #10 (108 openings).
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 727 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. 1

    New York NY

    727 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $101k
    All openings in the city
    20,589

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 727 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  2. 2

    Washington DC

    546 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    12%
    Median posted pay
    $144k
    All openings in the city
    4,457

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

    Based on 546 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Washington

  3. 3

    Phoenix AZ

    185 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $92k
    All openings in the city
    2,749

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

    Based on 185 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  4. 4

    Tallahassee FL

    143 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    19%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    759

    Hiring most here: State of Florida, L3HARRIS Technologies, Florida

    Based on 143 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tallahassee

  5. 5

    Arlington VA

    130 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $142k
    All openings in the city
    1,989

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group

    Based on 130 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Arlington

  6. 6

    Atlanta GA

    127 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $109k
    All openings in the city
    5,566

    Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent

    Based on 127 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Atlanta

  7. 7

    Los Angeles CA

    127 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    5,126

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

    Based on 127 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  8. 8

    Chicago IL

    119 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $151k
    All openings in the city
    7,607

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 119 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chicago

  9. 9

    Dallas TX

    109 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 109 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  10. 10

    San Francisco CA

    108 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    $165k
    All openings in the city
    11,798

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

    Based on 108 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  11. 11

    Salt Lake City UT

    105 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $123k
    All openings in the city
    1,048

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, iCapital, Harris Health Strategic Fund

    Based on 105 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Salt Lake City

  12. 12

    Indianapolis IN

    95 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $72k
    All openings in the city
    1,422

    Hiring most here: Eli Lilly and Company, State of Indiana, Masco

    Based on 95 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Indianapolis

  13. 13

    Columbus OH

    93 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $98k
    All openings in the city
    1,892

    Hiring most here: State of Ohio, Nationwide, Ohio State University-Newark Campus

    Based on 93 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Columbus

  14. 14

    Austin TX

    91 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    5,903

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 91 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  15. 15

    Denver CO

    85 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    $145k
    All openings in the city
    2,867

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 85 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Denver

  16. 16

    Sacramento CA

    85 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $136k
    All openings in the city
    1,364

    Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, Nalu Medical

    Based on 85 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sacramento

  17. 17

    Springfield IL

    78 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    28%
    Median posted pay
    $86k
    All openings in the city
    283

    Hiring most here: State of Illinois, Army National Guard Units, Hshs Medical Group

    Based on 78 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Springfield

  18. 18

    Alexandria VA

    73 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    13%
    Median posted pay
    $140k
    All openings in the city
    584

    Hiring most here: Kearney, Patent and Trademark Office, Analytic Services (ANSER)

    Based on 73 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Alexandria

  19. 19

    Boston MA

    70 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    5,143

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 70 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  20. 20

    Houston TX

    70 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $100k
    All openings in the city
    4,330

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 70 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  21. 21

    Oak Ridge TN

    69 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    35%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    196

    Hiring most here: UT-Battelle (ORNL), Centrus Energy, BWX Technologies

    Based on 69 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oak Ridge

  22. 22

    San Diego CA

    63 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $118k
    All openings in the city
    3,085

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

    Based on 63 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Diego

  23. 23

    Seattle WA

    62 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    $138k
    All openings in the city
    5,343

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 62 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  24. 24

    Miami FL

    60 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    $108k
    All openings in the city
    2,344

    Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises / Holland America Line

    Based on 60 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Miami

  25. 25

    Tampa FL

    54 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    1,738

    Hiring most here: DTCC, University of South Florida, Tampa Electric

    Based on 54 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tampa

Full ranking

All 26 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1New York NY727 openings727
2Washington DC546 openings546
3Phoenix AZ185 openings185
4Tallahassee FL143 openings143
5Arlington VA130 openings130
6Atlanta GA127 openings127
7Los Angeles CA127 openings127
8Chicago IL119 openings119
9Dallas TX109 openings109
10San Francisco CA108 openings108
11Salt Lake City UT105 openings105
12Indianapolis IN95 openings95
13Columbus OH93 openings93
14Austin TX91 openings91
15Denver CO85 openings85
16Sacramento CA85 openings85
17Springfield IL78 openings78
18Alexandria VA73 openings73
19Boston MA70 openings70
20Houston TX70 openings70
21Oak Ridge TN69 openings69
22San Diego CA63 openings63
23Seattle WA62 openings62
24Miami FL60 openings60
25Tampa FL54 openings54
26Norfolk VA52 openings52

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 government jobs?
New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 727 openings.
How many cities are ranked?
26 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 26 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 government jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-government-jobs

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

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

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