NextChapter

Best cities for entry-level and junior jobs

Lincoln leads the United States for junior jobs: 48% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 28% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Lincoln, NE: 48%
  • #2 Lansing, MI: 48%
  • #3 Virginia Beach, VA: 48%
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 28% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Lincoln NE48%
  2. 2Lansing MI48%
  3. 3Virginia Beach VA48%
  4. 4Tallahassee FL45%
  5. 5Annapolis MD43%
  6. 6Springfield IL42%
  7. 7Sioux Falls SD42%
  8. 8Charlottesville VA41%
  9. 9Baton Rouge LA41%
  10. 10Little Rock AR40%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Lincoln leads on 48%, and #10 Little Rock is at 40%.
  • Tallahassee is the largest market in the top ten, with 739 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 200 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Lincoln NE

    48%

    Entry-level openings
    119
    All openings
    248
    Openings with pay posted
    12%

    Hiring most here: State of Nebraska, Nelnet Servicing, General Dynamics OTS

    Based on 248 openings.

  2. 2

    Lansing MI

    48%

    Entry-level openings
    101
    All openings
    211
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, Auto-Owners Insurance, Sparrow Clinton Hospital

    Based on 211 openings.

  3. 3

    Virginia Beach VA

    48%

    Entry-level openings
    122
    All openings
    255
    Openings with pay posted
    18%

    Hiring most here: HII Mission Technologies, Sentara Health, Amazon

    Based on 255 openings.

  4. 4

    Tallahassee FL

    45%

    Entry-level openings
    331
    All openings
    739
    Openings with pay posted
    11%

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

    Based on 739 openings.

  5. 5

    Annapolis MD

    43%

    Entry-level openings
    163
    All openings
    375
    Openings with pay posted
    25%

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Luminis Health, TEKsystems

    Based on 375 openings.

  6. 6

    Springfield IL

    42%

    Entry-level openings
    117
    All openings
    280
    Openings with pay posted
    27%

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

    Based on 280 openings.

  7. 7

    Sioux Falls SD

    42%

    Entry-level openings
    83
    All openings
    200
    Openings with pay posted
    9%

    Hiring most here: Sioux Center Health, Marshfield Clinic, Trinzic

    Based on 200 openings.

  8. 8

    Charlottesville VA

    41%

    Entry-level openings
    206
    All openings
    504
    Openings with pay posted
    5%

    Hiring most here: UVA Health, University of Virginia, University of Virginia-Main Campus

    Based on 504 openings.

  9. 9

    Baton Rouge LA

    41%

    Entry-level openings
    111
    All openings
    272
    Openings with pay posted
    6%

    Hiring most here: Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, ST Catherines Village, EisnerAmper

    Based on 272 openings.

  10. 10

    Little Rock AR

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    110
    All openings
    273
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: Arkansas Children's, State of Arkansas, Bank OZK

    Based on 273 openings.

  11. 11

    Schaumburg IL

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    86
    All openings
    215
    Openings with pay posted
    26%

    Hiring most here: Motorola Solutions, Fictiv, Zurich

    Based on 215 openings.

  12. 12

    Akron OH

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    122
    All openings
    306
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: FirstEnergy Akron, Babcock International Group PLC/ADR, Akron Childrens Hospital

    Based on 306 openings.

  13. 13

    Cincinnati OH

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    551
    All openings
    1,385
    Openings with pay posted
    9%

    Hiring most here: Medpace Holdings, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Procter & Gamble

    Based on 1,385 openings.

  14. 14

    Albuquerque NM

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    143
    All openings
    361
    Openings with pay posted
    6%

    Hiring most here: University of New Mexico-Main Campus, Rocket Lab, Kairos Power

    Based on 361 openings.

  15. 15

    Norfolk VA

    39%

    Entry-level openings
    129
    All openings
    327
    Openings with pay posted
    22%

    Hiring most here: Commonwealth of Virginia, Seacorp, United States Fleet Forces Command

    Based on 327 openings.

  16. 16

    Knoxville TN

    39%

    Entry-level openings
    174
    All openings
    446
    Openings with pay posted
    7%

    Hiring most here: University of Tennessee, University of Tennessee System, Covenant Health (Tennessee)

    Based on 446 openings.

  17. 17

    Greenville SC

    39%

    Entry-level openings
    121
    All openings
    313
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: Vertiv Holdings, United Community Banks, Ogletree Deakins

    Based on 313 openings.

  18. 18

    Boca Raton FL

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    130
    All openings
    340
    Openings with pay posted
    15%

    Hiring most here: Compass, Baptist Health South Florida, SBA Communications

    Based on 340 openings.

  19. 19

    St. Louis MO

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    202
    All openings
    529
    Openings with pay posted
    20%

    Hiring most here: Stifel Charitable, BJC HealthCare, Kforce

    Based on 529 openings.

  20. 20

    Madison WI

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    196
    All openings
    515
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: Universities of Wisconsin [UW_Madison], Creative Financial Staffing, Catalent Pharma Solutions

    Based on 515 openings.

  21. 21

    King of Prussia PA

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    123
    All openings
    327
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin Services, Sikorsky Aircraft, Lockheed Martin

    Based on 327 openings.

  22. 22

    Manassas VA

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    85
    All openings
    228
    Openings with pay posted
    24%

    Hiring most here: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Electra.Aero, Holder Construction

    Based on 228 openings.

  23. 23

    Fairfax VA

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    151
    All openings
    407
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: George Mason University, Dewberry, Inova Health

    Based on 407 openings.

  24. 24

    Grand Rapids MI

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    155
    All openings
    421
    Openings with pay posted
    5%

    Hiring most here: Corewell Health, Acrisure, BDO USA

    Based on 421 openings.

  25. 25

    Troy MI

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    91
    All openings
    248
    Openings with pay posted
    7%

    Hiring most here: Aptiv, Publicis Groupe, Flagstar Bank, National Association

    Based on 248 openings.

Full ranking

All 100 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Lincoln NE48%248
2Lansing MI48%211
3Virginia Beach VA48%255
4Tallahassee FL45%739
5Annapolis MD43%375
6Springfield IL42%280
7Sioux Falls SD42%200
8Charlottesville VA41%504
9Baton Rouge LA41%272
10Little Rock AR40%273
11Schaumburg IL40%215
12Akron OH40%306
13Cincinnati OH40%1,385
14Albuquerque NM40%361
15Norfolk VA39%327
16Knoxville TN39%446
17Greenville SC39%313
18Boca Raton FL38%340
19St. Louis MO38%529
20Madison WI38%515
21King of Prussia PA38%327
22Manassas VA37%228
23Fairfax VA37%407
24Grand Rapids MI37%421
25Troy MI37%248
26Columbus OH37%1,942
27San Antonio TX36%1,267
28Cleveland OH36%897
29Marietta GA36%267
30Richmond VA36%1,133
31Harrisburg PA36%261
32Mundelein IL36%247
33Lenexa KS36%211
34Syracuse NY35%397
35Fort Lauderdale FL35%565
36Greensboro NC35%436
37Raleigh NC35%1,421
38Columbia SC35%334
39Pittsburgh PA35%1,534
40Tampa FL35%1,717
41Jacksonville FL35%1,055
42Boise ID35%354
43Redmond WA35%1,150
44Louisville KY34%2,065
45Birmingham AL34%584
46Tempe AZ34%671
47Alexandria VA34%576
48Dayton OH33%427
49Sacramento CA33%1,362
50Santa Ana CA33%256
51Wichita KS33%235
52Chattanooga TN33%208
53Tulsa OK33%474
54Scottsdale AZ33%756
55El Paso TX33%305
56Chandler AZ33%470
57New Haven CT33%285
58Kansas City MO33%892
59Las Vegas NV32%917
60Milwaukee WI32%825
61Long Beach CA32%838
62Buffalo NY32%415
63Charlotte NC32%3,201
64Charleston SC32%307
65Oklahoma City OK32%564
66Fort Worth TX32%1,248
67Annapolis Junction MD32%204
68Reno NV32%299
69Fort Wayne IN32%274
70Lexington KY32%221
71Omaha NE32%549
72Albany NY31%365
73Detroit MI31%740
74Bloomington MN31%202
75Allentown PA31%213
76Rochester NY31%516
77Orlando FL31%1,256
78Mc Lean VA31%234
79White Plains NY31%221
80Phoenix AZ31%2,743
81Indianapolis IN30%1,418
82Honolulu HI30%379
83Englewood CO30%249
84Overland Park KS30%445
85New Orleans LA30%372
86Salt Lake City UT30%1,045
87Aurora CO30%333
88Alpharetta GA30%566
89Littleton CO30%271
90Pasadena CA29%257
91Plano TX29%1,066
92Lehi UT29%254
93Parsippany NJ29%230
94Miami FL29%2,311
95Fort Meade MD29%272
96Coral Gables FL29%252
97Houston TX29%4,295
98Rockville MD29%358
99Portland OR29%785
100Tucson AZ29%716

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text.

Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. Internships are left out.

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 200 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 and junior jobs?
Lincoln leads the United States for junior jobs: 48% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 28% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 200 openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its open professional roles tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. Internships are left out. 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 entry-level and junior jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-junior-jobs

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

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

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