NextChapter

Best cities for mid-career professionals

Springfield leads the United States for mid-career professionals: 77% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 51% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Springfield, VA: 77%
  • #2 Ashburn, VA: 68%
  • #3 Mountain View, CA: 68%
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 51% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Springfield VA77%
  2. 2Ashburn VA68%
  3. 3Mountain View CA68%
  4. 4Bellevue WA66%
  5. 5Chantilly VA66%
  6. 6San Carlos CA65%
  7. 7Sterling VA65%
  8. 8Fort Meade MD65%
  9. 9Quincy MA64%
  10. 10Herndon VA64%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Springfield leads on 77%, and #10 Herndon is at 64%.
  • Mountain View is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,513 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

    Springfield VA

    77%

    Mid-career openings
    207
    All openings
    269
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, Caci Technologies, HII Mission Technologies

    Based on 269 openings.

  2. 2

    Ashburn VA

    68%

    Mid-career openings
    176
    All openings
    257
    Median posted pay
    $144k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, Caci Technologies, L3HARRIS Technologies

    Based on 257 openings.

  3. 3

    Mountain View CA

    68%

    Mid-career openings
    1,022
    All openings
    1,513
    Median posted pay
    $213k

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google

    Based on 1,513 openings.

  4. 4

    Bellevue WA

    66%

    Mid-career openings
    921
    All openings
    1,395
    Median posted pay
    $197k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta

    Based on 1,395 openings.

  5. 5

    Chantilly VA

    66%

    Mid-career openings
    365
    All openings
    554
    Median posted pay
    $194k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, Trinzic, Peraton

    Based on 554 openings.

  6. 6

    San Carlos CA

    65%

    Mid-career openings
    138
    All openings
    211
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera

    Based on 211 openings.

  7. 7

    Sterling VA

    65%

    Mid-career openings
    198
    All openings
    305
    Median posted pay
    $147k

    Hiring most here: CACI International, BAE Systems, Axon Enterprise

    Based on 305 openings.

  8. 8

    Fort Meade MD

    65%

    Mid-career openings
    176
    All openings
    272
    Median posted pay
    $149k

    Hiring most here: Peraton, CACI International, Grvty

    Based on 272 openings.

  9. 9

    Quincy MA

    64%

    Mid-career openings
    164
    All openings
    256
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: State Street, Anduril Industries, Anduril

    Based on 256 openings.

  10. 10

    Herndon VA

    64%

    Mid-career openings
    523
    All openings
    820
    Median posted pay
    $161k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Peraton

    Based on 820 openings.

  11. 11

    Berkeley CA

    63%

    Mid-career openings
    151
    All openings
    238
    Median posted pay
    $166k

    Hiring most here: Form Energy, University of California, Berkeley, Rigetti Computing

    Based on 238 openings.

  12. 12

    Columbia MD

    63%

    Mid-career openings
    164
    All openings
    260
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: HII Mission Technologies, CACI International, Grace Therapeutics

    Based on 260 openings.

  13. 13

    Southfield MI

    63%

    Mid-career openings
    144
    All openings
    230
    Median posted pay
    $130k

    Hiring most here: Lucid Motors, Sun Communities, Lear

    Based on 230 openings.

  14. 14

    San Mateo CA

    62%

    Mid-career openings
    546
    All openings
    887
    Median posted pay
    $233k

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 887 openings.

  15. 15

    Reston VA

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    480
    All openings
    782
    Median posted pay
    $160k

    Hiring most here: ICF International, CACI International, Anduril Industries

    Based on 782 openings.

  16. 16

    Ann Arbor MI

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    214
    All openings
    350
    Median posted pay
    $151k

    Hiring most here: May Mobility, Torc Robotics, Thomson Reuters

    Based on 350 openings.

  17. 17

    McLean VA

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    712
    All openings
    1,167
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk

    Based on 1,167 openings.

  18. 18

    Rolling Meadows IL

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    171
    All openings
    281
    Median posted pay
    $93k

    Hiring most here: Arthur J. Gallagher, Gallagher Bassett, Gallagher

    Based on 281 openings.

  19. 19

    San Francisco CA

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    7,163
    All openings
    11,776
    Median posted pay
    $215k

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

    Based on 11,776 openings.

  20. 20

    Annapolis Junction MD

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    124
    All openings
    204
    Median posted pay
    $146k

    Hiring most here: Peraton, General Dynamics Mission Systems, CACI International

    Based on 204 openings.

  21. 21

    Carlsbad CA

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    181
    All openings
    298
    Median posted pay
    $143k

    Hiring most here: Viasat, L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund

    Based on 298 openings.

  22. 22

    Huntsville AL

    60%

    Mid-career openings
    690
    All openings
    1,146
    Median posted pay
    $138k

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin

    Based on 1,146 openings.

  23. 23

    Palo Alto CA

    60%

    Mid-career openings
    737
    All openings
    1,234
    Median posted pay
    $203k

    Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care

    Based on 1,234 openings.

  24. 24

    Honolulu HI

    60%

    Mid-career openings
    226
    All openings
    379
    Median posted pay
    $114k

    Hiring most here: Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian, Central Pacific Bank

    Based on 379 openings.

  25. 25

    Westminster CO

    60%

    Mid-career openings
    153
    All openings
    257
    Median posted pay
    $147k

    Hiring most here: CesiumAstro, BAE Systems, Loenbro

    Based on 257 openings.

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1Springfield VA77%269
2Ashburn VA68%257
3Mountain View CA68%1,513
4Bellevue WA66%1,395
5Chantilly VA66%554
6San Carlos CA65%211
7Sterling VA65%305
8Fort Meade MD65%272
9Quincy MA64%256
10Herndon VA64%820
11Berkeley CA63%238
12Columbia MD63%260
13Southfield MI63%230
14San Mateo CA62%887
15Reston VA61%782
16Ann Arbor MI61%350
17McLean VA61%1,167
18Rolling Meadows IL61%281
19San Francisco CA61%11,776
20Annapolis Junction MD61%204
21Carlsbad CA61%298
22Huntsville AL60%1,146
23Palo Alto CA60%1,234
24Honolulu HI60%379
25Westminster CO60%257
26Des Moines IA59%365
27Lenexa KS59%211
28Littleton CO59%271
29Sunnyvale CA59%1,555
30Milpitas CA59%256
31Menlo Park CA59%439
32Seattle WA59%5,347
33Spring TX58%342
34Englewood CO58%249
35Colorado Springs CO58%691
36Torrance CA58%735
37Fremont CA58%473
38Overland Park KS58%445
39Cary NC57%229
40Rochester NY57%516
41Bethesda MD57%441
42Long Beach CA57%838
43Santa Ana CA57%256
44Arlington VA56%1,978
45Orlando FL56%1,256
46Alpharetta GA56%566
47Burlington MA56%268
48Santa Monica CA55%307
49Culver City CA55%242
50White Plains NY55%221
51Omaha NE55%549
52Framingham MA55%207
53Denver CO55%2,885
54Houston TX55%4,295
55Tulsa OK54%474
56Boise ID54%354
57Melbourne FL54%305
58Portland OR54%785
59Aurora CO53%333
60Dayton OH53%427
61Memphis TN53%718
62Newport Beach CA53%285
63Austin TX53%5,890
64Pasadena CA53%257
65Buffalo NY53%415
66Wichita KS53%235
67Oklahoma City OK53%564
68Irvine CA53%1,505
69Reno NV53%299
70Redwood City CA53%470
71San Jose CA53%2,383
72Irving TX52%875
73Greensboro NC52%436
74Norfolk VA52%327
75Cedar Rapids IA52%350
76Manassas VA52%228
77Minneapolis MN52%1,285
78El Segundo CA52%946
79Allentown PA52%213
80Phoenix AZ52%2,743
81Kansas City MO52%892
82Santa Clara CA52%1,522
83Tempe AZ52%671
84Chandler AZ52%470
85Oakland CA52%577
86Lehi UT52%254
87Albany NY52%365
88Bloomington MN51%202
89Salt Lake City UT51%1,045
90Atlanta GA51%5,502
91Charleston SC51%307
92Fort Wayne IN51%274
93Lexington MA51%253
94Dallas TX51%4,379
95Boulder CO51%425
96Charlotte NC51%3,201
97Marlborough MA51%252
98Grand Rapids MI51%421
99Foster City CA51%520
100Alexandria VA51%576

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at mid-level, senior individual-contributor or manager level, 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 mid-career professionals?
Springfield leads the United States for mid-career professionals: 77% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 51% 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 at mid-level, senior individual-contributor or manager level, 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 mid-career professionals,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-mid-career-jobs

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

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

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