Best cities for HR jobs
Key facts
- #1 New York, NY: 980 openings
- #2 San Francisco, CA: 440 openings
- #3 Chicago, IL: 324 openings
- 29 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
- 1New York NY980 openings
- 2San Francisco CA440 openings
- 3Chicago IL324 openings
- 4Austin TX241 openings
- 5Atlanta GA216 openings
- 6Los Angeles CA210 openings
- 7Seattle WA183 openings
- 8Dallas TX182 openings
- 9Houston TX182 openings
- 10Boston MA181 openings
What stands out
- The lead is wide: New York (980 openings) is well clear of Boston at #10 (181 openings).
- New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 980 openings behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 50 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
The top 25
- 1
New York NY
980 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $150k
- All openings in the city
- 20,409
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 980 openings.
- 2
San Francisco CA
440 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $175k
- All openings in the city
- 11,776
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 440 openings.
- 3
Chicago IL
324 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $116k
- All openings in the city
- 7,616
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 324 openings.
- 4
Austin TX
241 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $125k
- All openings in the city
- 5,890
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 241 openings.
- 5
Atlanta GA
216 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $137k
- All openings in the city
- 5,501
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 216 openings.
- 6
Los Angeles CA
210 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $120k
- All openings in the city
- 5,100
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 210 openings.
- 7
Seattle WA
183 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $166k
- All openings in the city
- 5,346
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 183 openings.
- 8
Dallas TX
182 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $130k
- All openings in the city
- 4,379
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 182 openings.
- 9
Houston TX
182 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $91k
- All openings in the city
- 4,295
Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy
Based on 182 openings.
- 10
Boston MA
181 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $136k
- All openings in the city
- 5,086
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 181 openings.
- 11
Washington DC
148 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- All openings in the city
- 4,428
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International
Based on 148 openings.
- 12
Phoenix AZ
142 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $75k
- All openings in the city
- 2,742
Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology
Based on 142 openings.
- 13
Miami FL
126 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $143k
- All openings in the city
- 2,311
Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises / Holland America Line
Based on 126 openings.
- 14
Charlotte NC
121 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $114k
- All openings in the city
- 3,199
Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas
Based on 121 openings.
- 15
Denver CO
107 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $106k
- All openings in the city
- 2,885
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 107 openings.
- 16
Louisville KY
104 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $80k
- All openings in the city
- 2,065
Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances
Based on 104 openings.
- 17
Sacramento CA
81 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 6%
- Median posted pay
- $101k
- All openings in the city
- 1,362
Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, Nalu Medical
Based on 81 openings.
- 18
San Diego CA
78 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $100k
- All openings in the city
- 3,082
Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics
Based on 78 openings.
- 19
Minneapolis MN
77 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 6%
- Median posted pay
- $120k
- All openings in the city
- 1,285
Hiring most here: Mortenson, Target ALS Foundation, Ameriprise Certificate
Based on 77 openings.
- 20
Columbus OH
75 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 1,941
Hiring most here: Nationwide Children's Hospital, State of Ohio, Nationwide
Based on 75 openings.
- 21
Arlington VA
72 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $136k
- All openings in the city
- 1,978
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 72 openings.
- 22
Nashville TN
67 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 1,654
Hiring most here: Oracle, Amazon, Vanderbilt University
Based on 67 openings.
- 23
San Jose CA
66 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $125k
- All openings in the city
- 2,383
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 66 openings.
- 24
Tampa FL
65 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 4%
- Median posted pay
- $75k
- All openings in the city
- 1,717
Hiring most here: DTCC, University of South Florida, Tampa Electric
Based on 65 openings.
- 25
Philadelphia PA
60 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 1,852
Hiring most here: Confidential, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, GSK
Based on 60 openings.
Full ranking
All 29 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York NY | 980 openings | 980 |
| 2 | San Francisco CA | 440 openings | 440 |
| 3 | Chicago IL | 324 openings | 324 |
| 4 | Austin TX | 241 openings | 241 |
| 5 | Atlanta GA | 216 openings | 216 |
| 6 | Los Angeles CA | 210 openings | 210 |
| 7 | Seattle WA | 183 openings | 183 |
| 8 | Dallas TX | 182 openings | 182 |
| 9 | Houston TX | 182 openings | 182 |
| 10 | Boston MA | 181 openings | 181 |
| 11 | Washington DC | 148 openings | 148 |
| 12 | Phoenix AZ | 142 openings | 142 |
| 13 | Miami FL | 126 openings | 126 |
| 14 | Charlotte NC | 121 openings | 121 |
| 15 | Denver CO | 107 openings | 107 |
| 16 | Louisville KY | 104 openings | 104 |
| 17 | Sacramento CA | 81 openings | 81 |
| 18 | San Diego CA | 78 openings | 78 |
| 19 | Minneapolis MN | 77 openings | 77 |
| 20 | Columbus OH | 75 openings | 75 |
| 21 | Arlington VA | 72 openings | 72 |
| 22 | Nashville TN | 67 openings | 67 |
| 23 | San Jose CA | 66 openings | 66 |
| 24 | Tampa FL | 65 openings | 65 |
| 25 | Philadelphia PA | 60 openings | 60 |
| 26 | San Antonio TX | 57 openings | 57 |
| 27 | Indianapolis IN | 54 openings | 54 |
| 28 | Irving TX | 52 openings | 52 |
| 29 | Pittsburgh PA | 50 openings | 50 |
How this ranking works
A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles in this job family, as classed from the posting title and text. 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 hr jobs?
- New York has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 980 openings.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 29 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 29 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles in this job family, as classed from the posting title and text. 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 HR jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-hr-jobs
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-hr-jobs">Best cities for HR jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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