NextChapter

Best cities for media and entertainment jobs

New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 1,283 openings.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

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Key facts

  • #1 New York, NY: 1,283 openings
  • #2 Los Angeles, CA: 429 openings
  • #3 Chicago, IL: 392 openings
  • 17 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1New York NY1,283 openings
  2. 2Los Angeles CA429 openings
  3. 3Chicago IL392 openings
  4. 4San Francisco CA160 openings
  5. 5Boston MA118 openings
  6. 6Atlanta GA113 openings
  7. 7Philadelphia PA101 openings
  8. 8Austin TX94 openings
  9. 9Denver CO84 openings
  10. 10Arlington VA79 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: New York (1,283 openings) is well clear of Arlington at #10 (79 openings).
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,283 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 50 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

Each industry hires in a different set of cities. Counting an industry's open roles by city shows where its demand is deepest, which is where its employers, recruiters and professional events are concentrated.

How to use it

If you work in this industry, look at the top cities for the employers to follow and the networks to join. A large market also means more competition, so read it with the pay list for the same industry.

The top 25

  1. 1

    New York NY

    1,283 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $140k
    All openings in the city
    20,589

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 1,283 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  2. 2

    Los Angeles CA

    429 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    8%
    Median posted pay
    $153k
    All openings in the city
    5,126

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

    Based on 429 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  3. 3

    Chicago IL

    392 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $124k
    All openings in the city
    7,607

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 392 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chicago

  4. 4

    San Francisco CA

    160 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    $176k
    All openings in the city
    11,798

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

    Based on 160 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  5. 5

    Boston MA

    118 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $130k
    All openings in the city
    5,143

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 118 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  6. 6

    Atlanta GA

    113 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $104k
    All openings in the city
    5,566

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

    Based on 113 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Atlanta

  7. 7

    Philadelphia PA

    101 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $156k
    All openings in the city
    1,820

    Hiring most here: Confidential, GSK, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

    Based on 101 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Philadelphia

  8. 8

    Austin TX

    94 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    5,903

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 94 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  9. 9

    Denver CO

    84 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    3%
    Median posted pay
    $141k
    All openings in the city
    2,867

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 84 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Denver

  10. 10

    Arlington VA

    79 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    4%
    Median posted pay
    $138k
    All openings in the city
    1,989

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group

    Based on 79 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Arlington

  11. 11

    Dallas TX

    76 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    4,429

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 76 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  12. 12

    San Mateo CA

    68 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    8%
    Median posted pay
    $242k
    All openings in the city
    894

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 68 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  13. 13

    Washington DC

    67 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $130k
    All openings in the city
    4,457

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

    Based on 67 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Washington

  14. 14

    Charlotte NC

    57 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    2%
    Median posted pay
    $104k
    All openings in the city
    3,198

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

    Based on 57 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Charlotte

  15. 15

    Burbank CA

    55 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    35%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    158

    Hiring most here: Paramount, Crane, Warner Bros. Discovery

    Based on 55 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Burbank

  16. 16

    Seattle WA

    55 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    $169k
    All openings in the city
    5,343

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 55 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  17. 17

    Houston TX

    53 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    1%
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings in the city
    4,330

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 53 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

Full ranking

All 17 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1New York NY1,283 openings1,283
2Los Angeles CA429 openings429
3Chicago IL392 openings392
4San Francisco CA160 openings160
5Boston MA118 openings118
6Atlanta GA113 openings113
7Philadelphia PA101 openings101
8Austin TX94 openings94
9Denver CO84 openings84
10Arlington VA79 openings79
11Dallas TX76 openings76
12San Mateo CA68 openings68
13Washington DC67 openings67
14Charlotte NC57 openings57
15Burbank CA55 openings55
16Seattle WA55 openings55
17Houston TX53 openings53

How this ranking works

A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. 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 media and entertainment jobs?
New York has the most openings in this industry in the United States: 1,283 openings.
How many cities are ranked?
17 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 17 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles at employers in this industry, as classed by the crawler from the employer. 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 media and entertainment jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-media-and-entertainment-jobs

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

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

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