NextChapter

Best cities for mid-career professionals in the West Coast

Mountain View leads the West Coast for mid-career professionals: 68% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 56% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Mountain View, CA: 68%
  • #2 Bellevue, WA: 66%
  • #3 San Carlos, CA: 65%
  • 68 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 56% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Mountain View CA68%
  2. 2Bellevue WA66%
  3. 3San Carlos CA65%
  4. 4Berkeley CA63%
  5. 5Newark CA63%
  6. 6Livermore CA62%
  7. 7San Mateo CA62%
  8. 8Everett WA61%
  9. 9San Francisco CA61%
  10. 10Carlsbad CA61%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Mountain View leads on 68%, and #10 Carlsbad is at 61%.
  • Livermore reaches #6 on a sample of 102 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 11,776 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

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    Newark CA

    63%

    Mid-career openings
    80
    All openings
    128
    Median posted pay
    $171k

    Hiring most here: Lucid Motors, Applied Industrial Technologies, Stratus Technologies

    Based on 128 openings.

  6. 6

    Livermore CA

    62%

    Mid-career openings
    63
    All openings
    102
    Median posted pay
    $152k

    Hiring most here: Formfactor, Fremont Bank, LAM Research

    Based on 102 openings.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    Everett WA

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    113
    All openings
    185
    Median posted pay
    $183k

    Hiring most here: Helion Energy, Fortive, TerraPower

    Based on 185 openings.

  9. 9

    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.

  10. 10

    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.

  11. 11

    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.

  12. 12

    San Leandro CA

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    60
    All openings
    101
    Median posted pay
    $173k

    Hiring most here: Fuse, Pacific Fusion, Sirenopt

    Based on 101 openings.

  13. 13

    Sunnyvale CA

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    918
    All openings
    1,555
    Median posted pay
    $210k

    Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon

    Based on 1,555 openings.

  14. 14

    Milpitas CA

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    151
    All openings
    256
    Median posted pay
    $160k

    Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, KLA, Psiquantum

    Based on 256 openings.

  15. 15

    Menlo Park CA

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    258
    All openings
    439
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Snowflake, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, Hippocratic AI

    Based on 439 openings.

  16. 16

    Seattle WA

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    3,141
    All openings
    5,347
    Median posted pay
    $180k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 5,347 openings.

  17. 17

    Bothell WA

    58%

    Mid-career openings
    75
    All openings
    129
    Median posted pay
    $163k

    Hiring most here: Verathon, IonQ, Koninklijke Philips

    Based on 129 openings.

  18. 18

    Torrance CA

    58%

    Mid-career openings
    425
    All openings
    735
    Median posted pay
    $166k

    Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros

    Based on 735 openings.

  19. 19

    Fremont CA

    58%

    Mid-career openings
    273
    All openings
    473
    Median posted pay
    $175k

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research

    Based on 473 openings.

  20. 20

    Burbank CA

    57%

    Mid-career openings
    90
    All openings
    158
    Median posted pay
    $135k

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

    Based on 158 openings.

  21. 21

    Kirkland WA

    57%

    Mid-career openings
    90
    All openings
    158
    Median posted pay
    $171k

    Hiring most here: Echodyne, Amazon, Google

    Based on 158 openings.

  22. 22

    Long Beach CA

    57%

    Mid-career openings
    475
    All openings
    838
    Median posted pay
    $155k

    Hiring most here: Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, Vast

    Based on 838 openings.

  23. 23

    Santa Ana CA

    57%

    Mid-career openings
    145
    All openings
    256
    Median posted pay
    $172k

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

    Based on 256 openings.

  24. 24

    Kent WA

    56%

    Mid-career openings
    82
    All openings
    146
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Stoke Space, Cowboy Space, Amazon

    Based on 146 openings.

  25. 25

    Palmdale CA

    56%

    Mid-career openings
    69
    All openings
    124
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Systems

    Based on 124 openings.

Full ranking

All 68 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Mountain View CA68%1,513
2Bellevue WA66%1,395
3San Carlos CA65%211
4Berkeley CA63%238
5Newark CA63%128
6Livermore CA62%102
7San Mateo CA62%887
8Everett WA61%185
9San Francisco CA61%11,776
10Carlsbad CA61%298
11Palo Alto CA60%1,234
12San Leandro CA59%101
13Sunnyvale CA59%1,555
14Milpitas CA59%256
15Menlo Park CA59%439
16Seattle WA59%5,347
17Bothell WA58%129
18Torrance CA58%735
19Fremont CA58%473
20Burbank CA57%158
21Kirkland WA57%158
22Long Beach CA57%838
23Santa Ana CA57%256
24Kent WA56%146
25Palmdale CA56%124
26Santa Monica CA55%307
27Culver City CA55%242
28Tacoma WA55%119
29Corona CA55%143
30Glendale CA54%184
31Hillsboro OR54%183
32Portland OR54%785
33Vancouver WA54%153
34Newport Beach CA53%285
35Pasadena CA53%257
36Beaverton OR53%111
37Huntington Beach CA53%100
38Irvine CA53%1,505
39Pleasanton CA53%174
40Anaheim CA53%171
41Redwood City CA53%470
42San Jose CA53%2,383
43El Segundo CA52%946
44Santa Clara CA52%1,522
45Oakland CA52%577
46Goleta CA51%101
47Spokane WA51%140
48Foster City CA51%520
49Walnut Creek CA51%170
50Hayward CA50%105
51San Diego CA50%3,082
52Beverly Hills CA50%142
53Los Angeles CA50%5,101
54Roseville CA50%165
55Renton WA49%130
56Santa Barbara CA48%147
57Alameda CA47%189
58Riverside CA47%173
59Santa Rosa CA46%151
60Redmond WA46%1,150
61Emeryville CA45%112
62Fresno CA44%197
63Orange CA44%133
64Sacramento CA43%1,362
65Salem OR41%118
66Eugene OR40%110
67Bakersfield CA40%111
68Stockton CA37%115

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 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 mid-career professionals in the west coast?
Mountain View leads the West Coast for mid-career professionals: 68% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 56% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
68 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 68 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 in the West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-mid-career-jobs-in-the-west-coast

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

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

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