NextChapter

Best cities for software and engineering jobs

San Francisco has the most software and engineering openings in the United States: 3,320 openings, in a market where engineering is 25% of openings across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 San Francisco, CA: 3,320 openings
  • #2 New York, NY: 2,795 openings
  • #3 Austin, TX: 1,890 openings
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 25% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1San Francisco CA3,320 openings
  2. 2New York NY2,795 openings
  3. 3Austin TX1,890 openings
  4. 4Seattle WA1,720 openings
  5. 5Los Angeles CA1,112 openings
  6. 6Chicago IL1,093 openings
  7. 7San Diego CA1,063 openings
  8. 8San Jose CA1,004 openings
  9. 9Houston TX954 openings
  10. 10Atlanta GA922 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: San Francisco (3,320 openings) is well clear of Atlanta at #10 (922 openings).
  • San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 3,320 engineering openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 50 engineering openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    San Francisco CA

    3,320 openings

    Share of all openings
    28%
    Median engineering pay
    $233k
    All openings
    11,776

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

    Based on 3,320 engineering openings.

  2. 2

    New York NY

    2,795 openings

    Share of all openings
    14%
    Median engineering pay
    $200k
    All openings
    20,410

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 2,795 engineering openings.

  3. 3

    Austin TX

    1,890 openings

    Share of all openings
    32%
    Median engineering pay
    $180k
    All openings
    5,890

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 1,890 engineering openings.

  4. 4

    Seattle WA

    1,720 openings

    Share of all openings
    32%
    Median engineering pay
    $200k
    All openings
    5,347

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 1,720 engineering openings.

  5. 5

    Los Angeles CA

    1,112 openings

    Share of all openings
    22%
    Median engineering pay
    $163k
    All openings
    5,101

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

    Based on 1,112 engineering openings.

  6. 6

    Chicago IL

    1,093 openings

    Share of all openings
    14%
    Median engineering pay
    $145k
    All openings
    7,617

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 1,093 engineering openings.

  7. 7

    San Diego CA

    1,063 openings

    Share of all openings
    34%
    Median engineering pay
    $158k
    All openings
    3,082

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

    Based on 1,063 engineering openings.

  8. 8

    San Jose CA

    1,004 openings

    Share of all openings
    42%
    Median engineering pay
    $208k
    All openings
    2,383

    Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems

    Based on 1,004 engineering openings.

  9. 9

    Houston TX

    954 openings

    Share of all openings
    22%
    Median engineering pay
    $131k
    All openings
    4,295

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 954 engineering openings.

  10. 10

    Atlanta GA

    922 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $145k
    All openings
    5,502

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

    Based on 922 engineering openings.

  11. 11

    Boston MA

    887 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $185k
    All openings
    5,086

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 887 engineering openings.

  12. 12

    Sunnyvale CA

    828 openings

    Share of all openings
    53%
    Median engineering pay
    $210k
    All openings
    1,555

    Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon

    Based on 828 engineering openings.

  13. 13

    Washington DC

    815 openings

    Share of all openings
    18%
    Median engineering pay
    $171k
    All openings
    4,428

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

    Based on 815 engineering openings.

  14. 14

    Denver CO

    766 openings

    Share of all openings
    27%
    Median engineering pay
    $147k
    All openings
    2,885

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 766 engineering openings.

  15. 15

    Santa Clara CA

    728 openings

    Share of all openings
    48%
    Median engineering pay
    $201k
    All openings
    1,522

    Hiring most here: Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon

    Based on 728 engineering openings.

  16. 16

    Dallas TX

    726 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $148k
    All openings
    4,379

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 726 engineering openings.

  17. 17

    Huntsville AL

    680 openings

    Share of all openings
    59%
    Median engineering pay
    $147k
    All openings
    1,146

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

    Based on 680 engineering openings.

  18. 18

    Redmond WA

    679 openings

    Share of all openings
    59%
    Median engineering pay
    $209k
    All openings
    1,150

    Hiring most here: Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft

    Based on 679 engineering openings.

  19. 19

    Phoenix AZ

    648 openings

    Share of all openings
    24%
    Median engineering pay
    $134k
    All openings
    2,743

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

    Based on 648 engineering openings.

  20. 20

    Mountain View CA

    646 openings

    Share of all openings
    43%
    Median engineering pay
    $219k
    All openings
    1,513

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Waymo, Google

    Based on 646 engineering openings.

  21. 21

    Charlotte NC

    621 openings

    Share of all openings
    19%
    Median engineering pay
    $135k
    All openings
    3,201

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

    Based on 621 engineering openings.

  22. 22

    Irvine CA

    566 openings

    Share of all openings
    38%
    Median engineering pay
    $170k
    All openings
    1,505

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

    Based on 566 engineering openings.

  23. 23

    Long Beach CA

    514 openings

    Share of all openings
    61%
    Median engineering pay
    $157k
    All openings
    838

    Hiring most here: Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, Vast

    Based on 514 engineering openings.

  24. 24

    Palo Alto CA

    489 openings

    Share of all openings
    40%
    Median engineering pay
    $198k
    All openings
    1,234

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

    Based on 489 engineering openings.

  25. 25

    El Segundo CA

    479 openings

    Share of all openings
    51%
    Median engineering pay
    $165k
    All openings
    946

    Hiring most here: Chaos Industries, Radiant, Varda Space Industries

    Based on 479 engineering openings.

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1San Francisco CA3,320 openings3,320
2New York NY2,795 openings2,795
3Austin TX1,890 openings1,890
4Seattle WA1,720 openings1,720
5Los Angeles CA1,112 openings1,112
6Chicago IL1,093 openings1,093
7San Diego CA1,063 openings1,063
8San Jose CA1,004 openings1,004
9Houston TX954 openings954
10Atlanta GA922 openings922
11Boston MA887 openings887
12Sunnyvale CA828 openings828
13Washington DC815 openings815
14Denver CO766 openings766
15Santa Clara CA728 openings728
16Dallas TX726 openings726
17Huntsville AL680 openings680
18Redmond WA679 openings679
19Phoenix AZ648 openings648
20Mountain View CA646 openings646
21Charlotte NC621 openings621
22Irvine CA566 openings566
23Long Beach CA514 openings514
24Palo Alto CA489 openings489
25El Segundo CA479 openings479
26Arlington VA440 openings440
27Herndon VA428 openings428
28Bellevue WA413 openings413
29Colorado Springs CO362 openings362
30Torrance CA357 openings357
31San Mateo CA349 openings349
32Louisville KY344 openings344
33Orlando FL342 openings342
34Nashville TN335 openings335
35Fort Worth TX326 openings326
36Raleigh NC320 openings320
37Indianapolis IN317 openings317
38Pittsburgh PA313 openings313
39Chantilly VA301 openings301
40Columbus OH298 openings298
41McLean VA293 openings293
42Tucson AZ293 openings293
43Salt Lake City UT278 openings278
44Reston VA274 openings274
45Tampa FL262 openings262
46Cincinnati OH247 openings247
47Cambridge MA246 openings246
48Miami FL235 openings235
49Minneapolis MN232 openings232
50San Antonio TX232 openings232
51Baltimore MD229 openings229
52Boulder CO224 openings224
53Plano TX224 openings224
54Fremont CA216 openings216
55Philadelphia PA215 openings215
56Richmond VA209 openings209
57Littleton CO191 openings191
58Irving TX186 openings186
59Chandler AZ183 openings183
60Scottsdale AZ179 openings179
61Waltham MA178 openings178
62Menlo Park CA171 openings171
63Cedar Rapids IA169 openings169
64Sacramento CA165 openings165
65Jacksonville FL163 openings163
66Foster City CA161 openings161
67Rochester NY161 openings161
68Milwaukee WI158 openings158
69Cleveland OH154 openings154
70Sterling VA153 openings153
71Tempe AZ152 openings152
72Richardson TX151 openings151
73Melbourne FL148 openings148
74Memphis TN147 openings147
75Carlsbad CA142 openings142
76Jersey City NJ138 openings138
77Aurora CO135 openings135
78Overland Park KS135 openings135
79Westminster CO135 openings135
80Annapolis Junction MD134 openings134
81Broomfield CO133 openings133
82Durham NC133 openings133
83Fort Meade MD132 openings132
84Oklahoma City OK131 openings131
85Portland OR130 openings130
86Las Vegas NV128 openings128
87Kansas City MO126 openings126
88King of Prussia PA126 openings126
89Redwood City CA125 openings125
90Ann Arbor MI121 openings121
91Milpitas CA121 openings121
92Ashburn VA119 openings119
93Detroit MI119 openings119
94Boise ID116 openings116
95Cape Canaveral FL116 openings116
96Tulsa OK116 openings116
97Annapolis MD114 openings114
98Springfield VA114 openings114
99Bethesda MD113 openings113
100San Carlos CA113 openings113

How this ranking works

A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles classed in the engineering function, which includes software, hardware and data engineering.

Median engineering pay uses only listings that post a salary, and is shown only where at least 8 do. Cities need at least the minimum number of engineering openings to be ranked.

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 engineering 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 software and engineering jobs?
San Francisco has the most software and engineering openings in the United States: 3,320 openings, in a market where engineering is 25% of openings across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 50 engineering openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles classed in the engineering function, which includes software, hardware and data engineering. Median engineering pay uses only listings that post a salary, and is shown only where at least 8 do. Cities need at least the minimum number of engineering openings to be ranked. 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 software and engineering jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-software-engineering-jobs

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

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

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