Best cities for security jobs
Key facts
- #1 San Francisco, CA: 317 openings
- #2 New York, NY: 284 openings
- #3 Washington, DC: 202 openings
- 20 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
- 1San Francisco CA317 openings
- 2New York NY284 openings
- 3Washington DC202 openings
- 4Seattle WA178 openings
- 5Austin TX117 openings
- 6Chicago IL115 openings
- 7Atlanta GA112 openings
- 8Arlington VA108 openings
- 9Herndon VA84 openings
- 10Charlotte NC80 openings
What stands out
- The lead is wide: San Francisco (317 openings) is well clear of Charlotte at #10 (80 openings).
- San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 317 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
San Francisco CA
317 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $250k
- All openings in the city
- 11,776
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 317 openings.
- 2
New York NY
284 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $223k
- All openings in the city
- 20,409
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 284 openings.
- 3
Washington DC
202 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $166k
- All openings in the city
- 4,428
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International
Based on 202 openings.
- 4
Seattle WA
178 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $201k
- All openings in the city
- 5,346
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 178 openings.
- 5
Austin TX
117 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $186k
- All openings in the city
- 5,890
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 117 openings.
- 6
Chicago IL
115 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- All openings in the city
- 7,616
Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential
Based on 115 openings.
- 7
Atlanta GA
112 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $153k
- All openings in the city
- 5,501
Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent
Based on 112 openings.
- 8
Arlington VA
108 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 5%
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- All openings in the city
- 1,978
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 108 openings.
- 9
Herndon VA
84 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 10%
- Median posted pay
- $179k
- All openings in the city
- 820
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Peraton
Based on 84 openings.
- 10
Charlotte NC
80 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $171k
- All openings in the city
- 3,199
Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas
Based on 80 openings.
- 11
McLean VA
76 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 7%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 1,167
Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk
Based on 76 openings.
- 12
Boston MA
64 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $183k
- All openings in the city
- 5,086
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 64 openings.
- 13
Los Angeles CA
64 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $180k
- All openings in the city
- 5,100
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 64 openings.
- 14
Dallas TX
61 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 1%
- Median posted pay
- $187k
- All openings in the city
- 4,379
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 61 openings.
- 15
Denver CO
59 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $177k
- All openings in the city
- 2,885
Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon
Based on 59 openings.
- 16
Columbus OH
58 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $121k
- All openings in the city
- 1,941
Hiring most here: Nationwide Children's Hospital, State of Ohio, Nationwide
Based on 58 openings.
- 17
Chantilly VA
53 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 10%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 554
Hiring most here: CACI International, Trinzic, Peraton
Based on 53 openings.
- 18
San Jose CA
51 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 2%
- Median posted pay
- $242k
- All openings in the city
- 2,383
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 51 openings.
- 19
Sunnyvale CA
51 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 3%
- Median posted pay
- $203k
- All openings in the city
- 1,555
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon
Based on 51 openings.
- 20
Colorado Springs CO
50 openings
- Share of the city's openings
- 7%
- Median posted pay
- Not enough pay data
- All openings in the city
- 691
Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Trinzic, Odyssey Systems Consulting
Based on 50 openings.
Full ranking
All 20 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco CA | 317 openings | 317 |
| 2 | New York NY | 284 openings | 284 |
| 3 | Washington DC | 202 openings | 202 |
| 4 | Seattle WA | 178 openings | 178 |
| 5 | Austin TX | 117 openings | 117 |
| 6 | Chicago IL | 115 openings | 115 |
| 7 | Atlanta GA | 112 openings | 112 |
| 8 | Arlington VA | 108 openings | 108 |
| 9 | Herndon VA | 84 openings | 84 |
| 10 | Charlotte NC | 80 openings | 80 |
| 11 | McLean VA | 76 openings | 76 |
| 12 | Boston MA | 64 openings | 64 |
| 13 | Los Angeles CA | 64 openings | 64 |
| 14 | Dallas TX | 61 openings | 61 |
| 15 | Denver CO | 59 openings | 59 |
| 16 | Columbus OH | 58 openings | 58 |
| 17 | Chantilly VA | 53 openings | 53 |
| 18 | San Jose CA | 51 openings | 51 |
| 19 | Sunnyvale CA | 51 openings | 51 |
| 20 | Colorado Springs CO | 50 openings | 50 |
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 security jobs?
- San Francisco has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 317 openings.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 20 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 20 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 security jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-security-jobs
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-security-jobs">Best cities for security jobs (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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