{"h1":"Best cities for junior jobs in the Mountain West","faq":[{"a":"Fort Collins leads the Mountain West for junior jobs: 36% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 29% across all cities in our data.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for junior jobs in the mountain west?"},{"a":"18 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 18 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"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.","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":"Fort Collins leads the Mountain West for junior jobs: 36% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 29% across all cities in our data.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":169,"key":"CO|fort collins","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/fort-collins","name":"Fort Collins","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"60"},{"label":"All openings","value":"169"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"28%"}],"value":0.3550295857988165,"change":null,"employers":["Broadcom","Anduril Industries","Advanced Energy"],"valueLabel":"36%"},{"n":354,"key":"ID|boise","sub":"ID","href":null,"name":"Boise","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"123"},{"label":"All openings","value":"354"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"15%"}],"value":0.3474576271186441,"change":null,"employers":["Simplot Company Foundation","Micron Technology","Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories"],"valueLabel":"35%"},{"n":121,"key":"NV|sparks","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/sparks","name":"Sparks","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"42"},{"label":"All openings","value":"121"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"7%"}],"value":0.3471074380165289,"change":null,"employers":["Panasonic Energy North America","Amazon","Fleet"],"valueLabel":"35%"},{"n":917,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"298"},{"label":"All openings","value":"917"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"14%"}],"value":0.3249727371864776,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"32%"},{"n":299,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"95"},{"label":"All openings","value":"299"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"18%"}],"value":0.3177257525083612,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"32%"},{"n":157,"key":"CO|centennial","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/centennial","name":"Centennial","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"48"},{"label":"All openings","value":"157"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"17%"}],"value":0.3057324840764331,"change":null,"employers":["United Launch Alliance","Mastec","American Civil Constructors"],"valueLabel":"31%"},{"n":249,"key":"CO|englewood","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/englewood","name":"Englewood","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"75"},{"label":"All openings","value":"249"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"15%"}],"value":0.3012048192771085,"change":null,"employers":["General Atomics","Sargent & Lundy","Lockheed Martin"],"valueLabel":"30%"},{"n":1045,"key":"UT|salt lake city","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/salt-lake-city","name":"Salt Lake City","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"311"},{"label":"All openings","value":"1,045"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"18%"}],"value":0.2976076555023923,"change":null,"employers":["L3HARRIS Technologies","iCapital","Harris Health Strategic Fund"],"valueLabel":"30%"},{"n":333,"key":"CO|aurora","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/aurora","name":"Aurora","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"99"},{"label":"All openings","value":"333"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"16%"}],"value":0.2972972972972973,"change":null,"employers":["CACI International","Northrop Grumman","RTX"],"valueLabel":"30%"},{"n":271,"key":"CO|littleton","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/littleton","name":"Littleton","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"80"},{"label":"All openings","value":"271"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"8%"}],"value":0.2952029520295203,"change":null,"employers":["Lockheed Martin","Sikorsky Aircraft","Lockheed Martin Services"],"valueLabel":"30%"},{"n":254,"key":"UT|lehi","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/lehi","name":"Lehi","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"74"},{"label":"All openings","value":"254"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"13%"}],"value":0.2913385826771653,"change":null,"employers":["Pattern","Podium","Weave"],"valueLabel":"29%"},{"n":425,"key":"CO|boulder","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/boulder","name":"Boulder","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"120"},{"label":"All openings","value":"425"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"28%"}],"value":0.2823529411764706,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Scitec Innovations","Atom Computing"],"valueLabel":"28%"},{"n":691,"key":"CO|colorado springs","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/colorado-springs","name":"Colorado Springs","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"192"},{"label":"All openings","value":"691"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"14%"}],"value":0.2778581765557164,"change":null,"employers":["Northrop Grumman","Trinzic","Odyssey Systems Consulting"],"valueLabel":"28%"},{"n":285,"key":"CO|broomfield","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/broomfield","name":"Broomfield","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"77"},{"label":"All openings","value":"285"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"20%"}],"value":0.2701754385964912,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Crocs","Katalyst Ventures"],"valueLabel":"27%"},{"n":2885,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"767"},{"label":"All openings","value":"2,885"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"26%"}],"value":0.2658578856152513,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"27%"},{"n":257,"key":"CO|westminster","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/westminster","name":"Westminster","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"57"},{"label":"All openings","value":"257"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"41%"}],"value":0.2217898832684825,"change":null,"employers":["CesiumAstro","BAE Systems","Loenbro"],"valueLabel":"22%"},{"n":125,"key":"CO|louisville","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/louisville","name":"Louisville","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"27"},{"label":"All openings","value":"125"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"22%"}],"value":0.216,"change":null,"employers":["Infleqtion","Garmin","Arcfield"],"valueLabel":"22%"},{"n":157,"key":"CO|greenwood village","sub":"CO","href":null,"name":"Greenwood Village","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"32"},{"label":"All openings","value":"157"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"13%"}],"value":0.2038216560509554,"change":null,"employers":["CoBank ACB","Charter Communications","Black & Veatch"],"valueLabel":"20%"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-junior-jobs-in-the-mountain-west","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"mountain-west","kind":"region","name":"Mountain West"},"title":"Best cities for junior jobs in the Mountain West","family":"Entry-level","method":["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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-02T22:01:52.820Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"junior","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":{"label":"all cities in our data","valueLabel":"29%"},"keyFacts":["#1 Fort Collins, CO: 36%","#2 Boise, ID: 35%","#3 Sparks, NV: 35%","18 cities ranked in the Mountain West","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: Fort Collins leads on 36%, and #10 Littleton is at 30%.","Sparks reaches #3 on a sample of 121 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Salt Lake City is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,045 openings behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 100 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-junior-jobs-in-the-mountain-west"}