NextChapter

Best cities for junior jobs in California

Bakersfield leads California for junior jobs: 43% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 24% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Bakersfield, CA: 43%
  • #2 Fresno, CA: 40%
  • #3 Stockton, CA: 38%
  • 52 cities ranked in California
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 24% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Bakersfield CA43%
  2. 2Fresno CA40%
  3. 3Stockton CA38%
  4. 4Santa Rosa CA38%
  5. 5Riverside CA37%
  6. 6Anaheim CA36%
  7. 7Hayward CA35%
  8. 8Orange CA35%
  9. 9Corona CA34%
  10. 10Sacramento CA33%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Bakersfield leads on 43%, and #10 Sacramento is at 33%.
  • Sacramento is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,362 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Bakersfield CA

    43%

    Entry-level openings
    48
    All openings
    111
    Openings with pay posted
    11%

    Hiring most here: Creative Financial Staffing, Clinica Sierra Vista

    Based on 111 openings.

  2. 2

    Fresno CA

    40%

    Entry-level openings
    79
    All openings
    197
    Openings with pay posted
    13%

    Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, University Of California San Francisco Foundation, Creative Financial Staffing

    Based on 197 openings.

  3. 3

    Stockton CA

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    44
    All openings
    115
    Openings with pay posted
    20%

    Hiring most here: Amazon

    Based on 115 openings.

  4. 4

    Santa Rosa CA

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    57
    All openings
    151
    Openings with pay posted
    13%

    Hiring most here: Keysight Technologies

    Based on 151 openings.

  5. 5

    Riverside CA

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    64
    All openings
    173
    Openings with pay posted
    12%

    Hiring most here: Kaiser Permanente, Pyramid Global Hospitality

    Based on 173 openings.

  6. 6

    Anaheim CA

    36%

    Entry-level openings
    61
    All openings
    171
    Openings with pay posted
    13%

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, UC Irvine (incl. UCI Health), Legrand North America

    Based on 171 openings.

  7. 7

    Hayward CA

    35%

    Entry-level openings
    37
    All openings
    105
    Openings with pay posted
    26%

    Hiring most here: Skydio, Pulse Biosciences, 1X Technologies

    Based on 105 openings.

  8. 8

    Orange CA

    35%

    Entry-level openings
    46
    All openings
    133
    Openings with pay posted
    23%

    Hiring most here: UC Irvine (incl. UCI Health), Alignment Healthcare, Foundation Risk Partners

    Based on 133 openings.

  9. 9

    Corona CA

    34%

    Entry-level openings
    48
    All openings
    143
    Openings with pay posted
    39%

    Hiring most here: Monster Energy Company, Lubrizol, Gallagher

    Based on 143 openings.

  10. 10

    Sacramento CA

    33%

    Entry-level openings
    455
    All openings
    1,362
    Openings with pay posted
    25%

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

    Based on 1,362 openings.

  11. 11

    Santa Ana CA

    33%

    Entry-level openings
    85
    All openings
    256
    Openings with pay posted
    42%

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, First American Financial, Anduril

    Based on 256 openings.

  12. 12

    Long Beach CA

    32%

    Entry-level openings
    271
    All openings
    838
    Openings with pay posted
    53%

    Hiring most here: Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, Vast

    Based on 838 openings.

  13. 13

    Santa Barbara CA

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    46
    All openings
    147
    Openings with pay posted
    33%

    Hiring most here: AppFolio, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Arthrex

    Based on 147 openings.

  14. 14

    Walnut Creek CA

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    53
    All openings
    170
    Openings with pay posted
    21%

    Hiring most here: Lewis Brisbois, Brown and Caldwell, Flourish

    Based on 170 openings.

  15. 15

    Huntington Beach CA

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    31
    All openings
    100
    Openings with pay posted
    23%

    Hiring most here: Mach Industries, Karman Sd, 7 Leaves Cafe

    Based on 100 openings.

  16. 16

    Beverly Hills CA

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    44
    All openings
    142
    Openings with pay posted
    15%

    Hiring most here: Fashion Nova, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, e.l.f. Beauty

    Based on 142 openings.

  17. 17

    Roseville CA

    30%

    Entry-level openings
    49
    All openings
    165
    Openings with pay posted
    22%

    Hiring most here: Adventist Health, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Juniper Networks

    Based on 165 openings.

  18. 18

    Emeryville CA

    29%

    Entry-level openings
    33
    All openings
    112
    Openings with pay posted
    41%

    Hiring most here: Profluent, Eko

    Based on 112 openings.

  19. 19

    Pasadena CA

    29%

    Entry-level openings
    75
    All openings
    257
    Openings with pay posted
    9%

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

    Based on 257 openings.

  20. 20

    El Segundo CA

    27%

    Entry-level openings
    254
    All openings
    946
    Openings with pay posted
    35%

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

    Based on 946 openings.

  21. 21

    Torrance CA

    26%

    Entry-level openings
    194
    All openings
    735
    Openings with pay posted
    44%

    Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros

    Based on 735 openings.

  22. 22

    Los Angeles CA

    26%

    Entry-level openings
    1,315
    All openings
    5,101
    Openings with pay posted
    28%

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

    Based on 5,101 openings.

  23. 23

    Irvine CA

    25%

    Entry-level openings
    380
    All openings
    1,505
    Openings with pay posted
    28%

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, St Edwards University

    Based on 1,505 openings.

  24. 24

    Fremont CA

    25%

    Entry-level openings
    118
    All openings
    473
    Openings with pay posted
    28%

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research

    Based on 473 openings.

  25. 25

    Goleta CA

    25%

    Entry-level openings
    25
    All openings
    101
    Openings with pay posted
    11%

    Hiring most here: RTX, Deckers Outdoor

    Based on 101 openings.

Full ranking

All 52 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Bakersfield CA43%111
2Fresno CA40%197
3Stockton CA38%115
4Santa Rosa CA38%151
5Riverside CA37%173
6Anaheim CA36%171
7Hayward CA35%105
8Orange CA35%133
9Corona CA34%143
10Sacramento CA33%1,362
11Santa Ana CA33%256
12Long Beach CA32%838
13Santa Barbara CA31%147
14Walnut Creek CA31%170
15Huntington Beach CA31%100
16Beverly Hills CA31%142
17Roseville CA30%165
18Emeryville CA29%112
19Pasadena CA29%257
20El Segundo CA27%946
21Torrance CA26%735
22Los Angeles CA26%5,101
23Irvine CA25%1,505
24Fremont CA25%473
25Goleta CA25%101
26San Leandro CA25%101
27Pleasanton CA25%174
28Newark CA24%128
29San Diego CA24%3,082
30Culver City CA24%242
31Glendale CA24%184
32Milpitas CA24%256
33Alameda CA24%189
34Burbank CA23%158
35Newport Beach CA22%285
36San Carlos CA22%211
37Carlsbad CA21%298
38Palo Alto CA21%1,234
39Sunnyvale CA21%1,555
40Livermore CA21%102
41San Jose CA20%2,383
42San Francisco CA20%11,776
43Oakland CA19%577
44Santa Monica CA19%307
45Redwood City CA17%470
46Santa Clara CA17%1,522
47Menlo Park CA17%439
48San Mateo CA17%887
49Berkeley CA15%238
50Palmdale CA15%124
51Mountain View CA14%1,513
52Foster City CA11%520

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 100 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 junior jobs in california?
Bakersfield leads California for junior jobs: 43% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 24% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
52 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 52 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 junior jobs in California,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-junior-jobs-in-california

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

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

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