NextChapter

Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Southeast

Atlanta has the most software and engineering openings in the Southeast: 922 openings, in a market where engineering is 22% 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 Atlanta, GA: 922 openings
  • #2 Huntsville, AL: 680 openings
  • #3 Charlotte, NC: 621 openings
  • 63 cities ranked in the Southeast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 22% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Atlanta GA922 openings
  2. 2Huntsville AL680 openings
  3. 3Charlotte NC621 openings
  4. 4Arlington VA440 openings
  5. 5Herndon VA428 openings
  6. 6Louisville KY344 openings
  7. 7Orlando FL342 openings
  8. 8Nashville TN335 openings
  9. 9Raleigh NC320 openings
  10. 10Chantilly VA301 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Atlanta (922 openings) is well clear of Chantilly at #10 (301 openings).
  • Atlanta is the largest market in the top ten, with 922 engineering openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 30 engineering openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

The top 25

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    Arlington VA

    440 openings

    Share of all openings
    22%
    Median engineering pay
    $169k
    All openings
    1,978

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group

    Based on 440 engineering openings.

  5. 5

    Herndon VA

    428 openings

    Share of all openings
    52%
    Median engineering pay
    $152k
    All openings
    820

    Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Peraton

    Based on 428 engineering openings.

  6. 6

    Louisville KY

    344 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $122k
    All openings
    2,065

    Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances

    Based on 344 engineering openings.

  7. 7

    Orlando FL

    342 openings

    Share of all openings
    27%
    Median engineering pay
    $102k
    All openings
    1,256

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Services, Creative Financial Staffing

    Based on 342 engineering openings.

  8. 8

    Nashville TN

    335 openings

    Share of all openings
    20%
    Median engineering pay
    $163k
    All openings
    1,654

    Hiring most here: Oracle, Amazon, Vanderbilt University

    Based on 335 engineering openings.

  9. 9

    Raleigh NC

    320 openings

    Share of all openings
    23%
    Median engineering pay
    $141k
    All openings
    1,421

    Hiring most here: First Citizens Bank, Dewberry, MaintainX

    Based on 320 engineering openings.

  10. 10

    Chantilly VA

    301 openings

    Share of all openings
    54%
    Median engineering pay
    $200k
    All openings
    554

    Hiring most here: CACI International, Trinzic, Peraton

    Based on 301 engineering openings.

  11. 11

    McLean VA

    293 openings

    Share of all openings
    25%
    Median engineering pay
    $152k
    All openings
    1,167

    Hiring most here: Capital One, The MITRE, Steampunk

    Based on 293 engineering openings.

  12. 12

    Reston VA

    274 openings

    Share of all openings
    35%
    Median engineering pay
    $185k
    All openings
    782

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

    Based on 274 engineering openings.

  13. 13

    Tampa FL

    262 openings

    Share of all openings
    15%
    Median engineering pay
    $121k
    All openings
    1,717

    Hiring most here: DTCC, University of South Florida, Tampa Electric

    Based on 262 engineering openings.

  14. 14

    Miami FL

    235 openings

    Share of all openings
    10%
    Median engineering pay
    $135k
    All openings
    2,311

    Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises / Holland America Line

    Based on 235 engineering openings.

  15. 15

    Richmond VA

    209 openings

    Share of all openings
    18%
    Median engineering pay
    $135k
    All openings
    1,133

    Hiring most here: Mckesson, Capital One, Genworth Financial

    Based on 209 engineering openings.

  16. 16

    Jacksonville FL

    163 openings

    Share of all openings
    15%
    Median engineering pay
    $100k
    All openings
    1,055

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Intercontinental Exchange, UF Health

    Based on 163 engineering openings.

  17. 17

    Sterling VA

    153 openings

    Share of all openings
    50%
    Median engineering pay
    $175k
    All openings
    305

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

    Based on 153 engineering openings.

  18. 18

    Melbourne FL

    148 openings

    Share of all openings
    49%
    Median engineering pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings
    305

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund

    Based on 148 engineering openings.

  19. 19

    Memphis TN

    147 openings

    Share of all openings
    20%
    Median engineering pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings
    718

    Hiring most here: ALSAC / St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, SpaceX, Jabil

    Based on 147 engineering openings.

  20. 20

    Durham NC

    133 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $163k
    All openings
    775

    Hiring most here: Duke University, Duke Health Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, GSK

    Based on 133 engineering openings.

  21. 21

    Ashburn VA

    119 openings

    Share of all openings
    46%
    Median engineering pay
    $160k
    All openings
    257

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

    Based on 119 engineering openings.

  22. 22

    Cape Canaveral FL

    116 openings

    Share of all openings
    67%
    Median engineering pay
    $136k
    All openings
    172

    Hiring most here: SpaceX, Relativity Space, Sidus Space

    Based on 116 engineering openings.

  23. 23

    Springfield VA

    114 openings

    Share of all openings
    42%
    Median engineering pay
    $142k
    All openings
    269

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

    Based on 114 engineering openings.

  24. 24

    Alpharetta GA

    112 openings

    Share of all openings
    20%
    Median engineering pay
    $127k
    All openings
    566

    Hiring most here: Morgan Stanley, Fiserv, Landis+Gyr

    Based on 112 engineering openings.

  25. 25

    Oak Ridge TN

    112 openings

    Share of all openings
    57%
    Median engineering pay
    Not enough pay data
    All openings
    196

    Hiring most here: UT-Battelle (ORNL), Centrus Energy, BWX Technologies

    Based on 112 engineering openings.

Full ranking

All 63 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Atlanta GA922 openings922
2Huntsville AL680 openings680
3Charlotte NC621 openings621
4Arlington VA440 openings440
5Herndon VA428 openings428
6Louisville KY344 openings344
7Orlando FL342 openings342
8Nashville TN335 openings335
9Raleigh NC320 openings320
10Chantilly VA301 openings301
11McLean VA293 openings293
12Reston VA274 openings274
13Tampa FL262 openings262
14Miami FL235 openings235
15Richmond VA209 openings209
16Jacksonville FL163 openings163
17Sterling VA153 openings153
18Melbourne FL148 openings148
19Memphis TN147 openings147
20Durham NC133 openings133
21Ashburn VA119 openings119
22Cape Canaveral FL116 openings116
23Springfield VA114 openings114
24Alpharetta GA112 openings112
25Oak Ridge TN112 openings112
26Alexandria VA106 openings106
27Manassas VA106 openings106
28Tallahassee FL103 openings103
29Fairfax VA93 openings93
30Greensboro NC87 openings87
31Kennesaw GA87 openings87
32Marietta GA83 openings83
33Greenville SC81 openings81
34Birmingham AL80 openings80
35Knoxville TN80 openings80
36Tysons VA78 openings78
37Cary NC71 openings71
38Fort Lauderdale FL69 openings69
39Fort Belvoir VA68 openings68
40Norfolk VA65 openings65
41Columbia SC59 openings59
42Charlottesville VA54 openings54
43Virginia Beach VA53 openings53
44Lynchburg VA51 openings51
45Vienna VA50 openings50
46Dahlgren VA49 openings49
47Chattanooga TN48 openings48
48Charleston SC47 openings47
49Morrisville NC47 openings47
50Hampton VA46 openings46
51Montgomery AL46 openings46
52Sarasota FL42 openings42
53Wilmington NC42 openings42
54Palm Beach Gardens FL41 openings41
55Newport News VA36 openings36
56Duluth GA34 openings34
57Lexington KY34 openings34
58Boca Raton FL33 openings33
59Rock Hill SC33 openings33
60Norcross GA32 openings32
61Clearwater FL30 openings30
62Coral Gables FL30 openings30
63Research Triangle Park NC30 openings30

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 30 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 in the southeast?
Atlanta has the most software and engineering openings in the Southeast: 922 openings, in a market where engineering is 22% of openings across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
63 cities have at least 30 engineering openings, so the list has 63 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 in the Southeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-software-engineering-jobs-in-the-southeast

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

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