{"h1":"Best cities for government jobs","faq":[{"a":"New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 727 openings.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for government jobs?"},{"a":"26 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 26 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 727 openings.","minN":50,"rows":[{"n":727,"bar":1,"key":"NY|new york","sub":"NY","href":"/places/new-york/city/new-york","name":"New York","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"4%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$101k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"20,589"}],"value":727,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Publicis Groupe","Morgan Stanley"],"valueLabel":"727 openings"},{"n":546,"bar":0.7510316368638239,"key":"DC|washington","sub":"DC","href":"/places/district-of-columbia/city/washington","name":"Washington","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"12%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$144k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"4,457"}],"value":546,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","CACI International","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"546 openings"},{"n":185,"bar":0.2544704264099037,"key":"AZ|phoenix","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/city/phoenix","name":"Phoenix","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"7%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$92k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"2,749"}],"value":185,"change":null,"employers":["Honeywell Aerospace","State of Arizona","American Society for Microbiology"],"valueLabel":"185 openings"},{"n":143,"bar":0.1966987620357634,"key":"FL|tallahassee","sub":"FL","href":"/places/florida/city/tallahassee","name":"Tallahassee","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"19%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"759"}],"value":143,"change":null,"employers":["State of Florida","L3HARRIS Technologies","Florida"],"valueLabel":"143 openings"},{"n":130,"bar":0.1788170563961486,"key":"VA|arlington","sub":"VA","href":"/places/virginia/city/arlington","name":"Arlington","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"7%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$142k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,989"}],"value":130,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","AWS","Bloomberg Industry Group"],"valueLabel":"130 openings"},{"n":127,"bar":0.1746905089408528,"key":"GA|atlanta","sub":"GA","href":"/places/georgia/city/atlanta","name":"Atlanta","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$109k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,566"}],"value":127,"change":null,"employers":["Emory University","Oxford College of Emory University","Capgemini Invent"],"valueLabel":"127 openings"},{"n":127,"bar":0.1746905089408528,"key":"CA|los angeles","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/los-angeles","name":"Los Angeles","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$143k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,126"}],"value":127,"change":null,"employers":["K2 Space","Cedars-sinai Medical Center","Apex Space"],"valueLabel":"127 openings"},{"n":119,"bar":0.1636863823933975,"key":"IL|chicago","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/chicago","name":"Chicago","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$151k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"7,607"}],"value":119,"change":null,"employers":["Publicis Groupe","Northern Trust","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"119 openings"},{"n":109,"bar":0.1499312242090784,"key":"TX|dallas","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/dallas","name":"Dallas","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"4,429"}],"value":109,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Shield AI","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"109 openings"},{"n":108,"bar":0.1485557083906465,"key":"CA|san francisco","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-francisco","name":"San Francisco","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$165k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"11,798"}],"value":108,"change":null,"employers":["OpenAI","Anthropic","University Of California San Francisco Foundation"],"valueLabel":"108 openings"},{"n":105,"bar":0.1444291609353508,"key":"UT|salt lake city","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/salt-lake-city","name":"Salt Lake City","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"10%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$123k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,048"}],"value":105,"change":null,"employers":["L3HARRIS Technologies","iCapital","Harris Health Strategic Fund"],"valueLabel":"105 openings"},{"n":95,"bar":0.1306740027510316,"key":"IN|indianapolis","sub":"IN","href":"/places/indiana/city/indianapolis","name":"Indianapolis","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"7%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$72k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,422"}],"value":95,"change":null,"employers":["Eli Lilly and Company","State of Indiana","Masco"],"valueLabel":"95 openings"},{"n":93,"bar":0.1279229711141678,"key":"OH|columbus","sub":"OH","href":"/places/ohio/city/columbus","name":"Columbus","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"5%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$98k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,892"}],"value":93,"change":null,"employers":["State of Ohio","Nationwide","Ohio State University-Newark Campus"],"valueLabel":"93 openings"},{"n":91,"bar":0.125171939477304,"key":"TX|austin","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/austin","name":"Austin","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,903"}],"value":91,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Advanced Micro Devices","Cloudflare"],"valueLabel":"91 openings"},{"n":85,"bar":0.1169188445667125,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"3%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$145k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"2,867"}],"value":85,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"85 openings"},{"n":85,"bar":0.1169188445667125,"key":"CA|sacramento","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/sacramento","name":"Sacramento","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"6%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$136k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,364"}],"value":85,"change":null,"employers":["Sutter Health","California Correctional Health Care Services","Nalu Medical"],"valueLabel":"85 openings"},{"n":78,"bar":0.1072902338376891,"key":"IL|springfield","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/springfield","name":"Springfield","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"28%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$86k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"283"}],"value":78,"change":null,"employers":["State of Illinois","Army National Guard Units","Hshs Medical Group"],"valueLabel":"78 openings"},{"n":73,"bar":0.1004126547455296,"key":"VA|alexandria","sub":"VA","href":"/places/virginia/city/alexandria","name":"Alexandria","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"13%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$140k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"584"}],"value":73,"change":null,"employers":["Kearney","Patent and Trademark Office","Analytic Services (ANSER)"],"valueLabel":"73 openings"},{"n":70,"bar":0.09628610729023383,"key":"MA|boston","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/city/boston","name":"Boston","rank":19,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,143"}],"value":70,"change":null,"employers":["Vertex Pharmaceuticals","State Street","Confidential"],"valueLabel":"70 openings"},{"n":70,"bar":0.09628610729023383,"key":"TX|houston","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/city/houston","name":"Houston","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$100k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"4,330"}],"value":70,"change":null,"employers":["Axiom Space","Trinzic","Fervo Energy"],"valueLabel":"70 openings"},{"n":69,"bar":0.09491059147180192,"key":"TN|oak ridge","sub":"TN","href":"/places/tennessee/city/oak-ridge","name":"Oak Ridge","rank":21,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"35%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"196"}],"value":69,"change":null,"employers":["UT-Battelle (ORNL)","Centrus Energy","BWX Technologies"],"valueLabel":"69 openings"},{"n":63,"bar":0.08665749656121045,"key":"CA|san diego","sub":"CA","href":"/places/california/city/san-diego","name":"San Diego","rank":22,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$118k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"3,085"}],"value":63,"change":null,"employers":["Qualcomm Inc/De","Qualcomm Technologies","General Atomics"],"valueLabel":"63 openings"},{"n":62,"bar":0.08528198074277854,"key":"WA|seattle","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/city/seattle","name":"Seattle","rank":23,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$138k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"5,343"}],"value":62,"change":null,"employers":["Amazon","Blue Origin","Shield AI"],"valueLabel":"62 openings"},{"n":60,"bar":0.08253094910591471,"key":"FL|miami","sub":"FL","href":"/places/florida/city/miami","name":"Miami","rank":24,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"3%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$108k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"2,344"}],"value":60,"change":null,"employers":["University Of Miami","Royal Caribbean Cruises","Princess Cruises / Holland America Line"],"valueLabel":"60 openings"},{"n":54,"bar":0.07427785419532325,"key":"FL|tampa","sub":"FL","href":"/places/florida/city/tampa","name":"Tampa","rank":25,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"3%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"1,738"}],"value":54,"change":null,"employers":["DTCC","University of South Florida","Tampa Electric"],"valueLabel":"54 openings"},{"n":52,"bar":0.07152682255845942,"key":"VA|norfolk","sub":"VA","href":"/places/virginia/city/norfolk","name":"Norfolk","rank":26,"stats":[{"label":"Share of the city's openings","value":"16%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$124k"},{"label":"All openings in the city","value":"332"}],"value":52,"change":null,"employers":["Commonwealth of Virginia","Seacorp","United States Fleet Forces Command"],"valueLabel":"52 openings"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-government-jobs","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Best cities for government jobs","family":"Industry markets","method":["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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T03:57:58.028Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"icopen","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#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"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["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."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-government-jobs"}