NextChapter

Best cities for legal jobs

New York has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 842 openings.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 New York, NY: 842 openings
  • #2 Chicago, IL: 368 openings
  • #3 San Francisco, CA: 340 openings
  • 36 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1New York NY842 openings
  2. 2Chicago IL368 openings
  3. 3San Francisco CA340 openings
  4. 4Los Angeles CA338 openings
  5. 5Washington DC299 openings
  6. 6Atlanta GA293 openings
  7. 7Dallas TX249 openings
  8. 8Boston MA242 openings
  9. 9Houston TX224 openings
  10. 10San Diego CA163 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: New York (842 openings) is well clear of San Diego at #10 (163 openings).
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 842 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. 1

    New York NY

    842 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $129k
    All openings in the city
    20,409

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 842 openings.

  2. 2

    Chicago IL

    368 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $123k
    All openings in the city
    7,616

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 368 openings.

  3. 3

    San Francisco CA

    340 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    $225k
    All openings in the city
    11,776

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 340 openings.

  4. 4

    Los Angeles CA

    338 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $157k
    All openings in the city
    5,100

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

    Based on 338 openings.

  5. 5

    Washington DC

    299 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $165k
    All openings in the city
    4,428

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International

    Based on 299 openings.

  6. 6

    Atlanta GA

    293 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $86k
    All openings in the city
    5,501

    Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent

    Based on 293 openings.

  7. 7

    Dallas TX

    249 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $106k
    All openings in the city
    4,379

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 249 openings.

  8. 8

    Boston MA

    242 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $194k
    All openings in the city
    5,086

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 242 openings.

  9. 9

    Houston TX

    224 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $118k
    All openings in the city
    4,295

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 224 openings.

  10. 10

    San Diego CA

    163 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $160k
    All openings in the city
    3,082

    Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics

    Based on 163 openings.

  11. 11

    Austin TX

    142 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $158k
    All openings in the city
    5,890

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 142 openings.

  12. 12

    Miami FL

    135 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $150k
    All openings in the city
    2,311

    Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises / Holland America Line

    Based on 135 openings.

  13. 13

    Philadelphia PA

    126 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $101k
    All openings in the city
    1,852

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, GSK

    Based on 126 openings.

  14. 14

    Sacramento CA

    123 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    9%
    Median posted pay
    $130k
    All openings in the city
    1,362

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

    Based on 123 openings.

  15. 15

    Seattle WA

    116 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    5,346

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 116 openings.

  16. 16

    Charlotte NC

    114 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $105k
    All openings in the city
    3,199

    Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas

    Based on 114 openings.

  17. 17

    Columbus OH

    103 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $89k
    All openings in the city
    1,941

    Hiring most here: Nationwide Children's Hospital, State of Ohio, Nationwide

    Based on 103 openings.

  18. 18

    Louisville KY

    103 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $125k
    All openings in the city
    2,065

    Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances

    Based on 103 openings.

  19. 19

    Denver CO

    100 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    $149k
    All openings in the city
    2,885

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 100 openings.

  20. 20

    Phoenix AZ

    100 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $120k
    All openings in the city
    2,742

    Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology

    Based on 100 openings.

  21. 21

    Arlington VA

    84 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    1,978

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group

    Based on 84 openings.

  22. 22

    Raleigh NC

    81 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $125k
    All openings in the city
    1,421

    Hiring most here: First Citizens Bank, Dewberry, MaintainX

    Based on 81 openings.

  23. 23

    Irvine CA

    75 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    1,505

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

    Based on 75 openings.

  24. 24

    New York NY

    74 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    0%
    Median posted pay
    $113k
    All openings in the city
    20,409

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 74 openings.

  25. 25

    Tampa FL

    74 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $178k
    All openings in the city
    1,717

    Hiring most here: DTCC, University of South Florida, Tampa Electric

    Based on 74 openings.

Full ranking

All 36 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1New York NY842 openings842
2Chicago IL368 openings368
3San Francisco CA340 openings340
4Los Angeles CA338 openings338
5Washington DC299 openings299
6Atlanta GA293 openings293
7Dallas TX249 openings249
8Boston MA242 openings242
9Houston TX224 openings224
10San Diego CA163 openings163
11Austin TX142 openings142
12Miami FL135 openings135
13Philadelphia PA126 openings126
14Sacramento CA123 openings123
15Seattle WA116 openings116
16Charlotte NC114 openings114
17Columbus OH103 openings103
18Louisville KY103 openings103
19Denver CO100 openings100
20Phoenix AZ100 openings100
21Arlington VA84 openings84
22Raleigh NC81 openings81
23Irvine CA75 openings75
24New York NY74 openings74
25Tampa FL74 openings74
26Cambridge MA71 openings71
27Tallahassee FL69 openings69
28Cleveland OH62 openings62
29Pittsburgh PA61 openings61
30Nashville TN60 openings60
31Indianapolis IN58 openings58
32Jacksonville FL57 openings57
33Las Vegas NV57 openings57
34Cincinnati OH52 openings52
35Orlando FL52 openings52
36San Jose CA52 openings52

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 legal jobs?
New York has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 842 openings.
How many cities are ranked?
36 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 36 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 legal jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-legal-jobs

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

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

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