NextChapter

Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the West Coast

San Francisco has the most software and engineering openings in the West Coast: 3,320 openings, in a market where engineering is 34% 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 Seattle, WA: 1,720 openings
  • #3 Los Angeles, CA: 1,112 openings
  • 60 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 34% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1San Francisco CA3,320 openings
  2. 2Seattle WA1,720 openings
  3. 3Los Angeles CA1,112 openings
  4. 4San Diego CA1,063 openings
  5. 5San Jose CA1,004 openings
  6. 6Sunnyvale CA828 openings
  7. 7Santa Clara CA728 openings
  8. 8Redmond WA679 openings
  9. 9Mountain View CA646 openings
  10. 10Irvine CA566 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: San Francisco (3,320 openings) is well clear of Irvine at #10 (566 openings).
  • San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 3,320 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

    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

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    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.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    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.

  9. 9

    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.

  10. 10

    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.

  11. 11

    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.

  12. 12

    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.

  13. 13

    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.

  14. 14

    Bellevue WA

    413 openings

    Share of all openings
    30%
    Median engineering pay
    $211k
    All openings
    1,395

    Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta

    Based on 413 engineering openings.

  15. 15

    Torrance CA

    357 openings

    Share of all openings
    49%
    Median engineering pay
    $174k
    All openings
    735

    Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros

    Based on 357 engineering openings.

  16. 16

    San Mateo CA

    349 openings

    Share of all openings
    39%
    Median engineering pay
    $250k
    All openings
    887

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 349 engineering openings.

  17. 17

    Fremont CA

    216 openings

    Share of all openings
    46%
    Median engineering pay
    $194k
    All openings
    473

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Coherent, LAM Research

    Based on 216 engineering openings.

  18. 18

    Menlo Park CA

    171 openings

    Share of all openings
    39%
    Median engineering pay
    $203k
    All openings
    439

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

    Based on 171 engineering openings.

  19. 19

    Sacramento CA

    165 openings

    Share of all openings
    12%
    Median engineering pay
    $136k
    All openings
    1,362

    Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, Nalu Medical

    Based on 165 engineering openings.

  20. 20

    Foster City CA

    161 openings

    Share of all openings
    31%
    Median engineering pay
    $230k
    All openings
    520

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit

    Based on 161 engineering openings.

  21. 21

    Carlsbad CA

    142 openings

    Share of all openings
    48%
    Median engineering pay
    $122k
    All openings
    298

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

    Based on 142 engineering openings.

  22. 22

    Portland OR

    130 openings

    Share of all openings
    17%
    Median engineering pay
    $138k
    All openings
    785

    Hiring most here: Oregon Health & Science University, Legacy Health, Keen Footwear

    Based on 130 engineering openings.

  23. 23

    Redwood City CA

    125 openings

    Share of all openings
    27%
    Median engineering pay
    $200k
    All openings
    470

    Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI

    Based on 125 engineering openings.

  24. 24

    Milpitas CA

    121 openings

    Share of all openings
    47%
    Median engineering pay
    $169k
    All openings
    256

    Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, KLA, Psiquantum

    Based on 121 engineering openings.

  25. 25

    San Carlos CA

    113 openings

    Share of all openings
    54%
    Median engineering pay
    $195k
    All openings
    211

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

    Based on 113 engineering openings.

Full ranking

All 60 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1San Francisco CA3,320 openings3,320
2Seattle WA1,720 openings1,720
3Los Angeles CA1,112 openings1,112
4San Diego CA1,063 openings1,063
5San Jose CA1,004 openings1,004
6Sunnyvale CA828 openings828
7Santa Clara CA728 openings728
8Redmond WA679 openings679
9Mountain View CA646 openings646
10Irvine CA566 openings566
11Long Beach CA514 openings514
12Palo Alto CA489 openings489
13El Segundo CA479 openings479
14Bellevue WA413 openings413
15Torrance CA357 openings357
16San Mateo CA349 openings349
17Fremont CA216 openings216
18Menlo Park CA171 openings171
19Sacramento CA165 openings165
20Foster City CA161 openings161
21Carlsbad CA142 openings142
22Portland OR130 openings130
23Redwood City CA125 openings125
24Milpitas CA121 openings121
25San Carlos CA113 openings113
26Oakland CA112 openings112
27Berkeley CA103 openings103
28Hillsboro OR102 openings102
29Santa Ana CA98 openings98
30Kirkland WA77 openings77
31Palmdale CA76 openings76
32Alameda CA75 openings75
33Kent WA75 openings75
34Everett WA74 openings74
35Newark CA73 openings73
36Roseville CA61 openings61
37Goleta CA59 openings59
38Santa Monica CA58 openings58
39Santa Rosa CA57 openings57
40Pasadena CA56 openings56
41Canoga Park CA49 openings49
42Bothell WA48 openings48
43Richland WA47 openings47
44Santa Barbara CA43 openings43
45Newport Beach CA42 openings42
46Pleasanton CA42 openings42
47San Luis Obispo CA40 openings40
48Yorba Linda CA40 openings40
49San Leandro CA39 openings39
50Tualatin OR39 openings39
51Edwards AFB CA38 openings38
52Hayward CA38 openings38
53Burbank CA36 openings36
54Beaverton OR35 openings35
55Vancouver WA35 openings35
56Carson CA33 openings33
57Folsom CA33 openings33
58Salem OR33 openings33
59Huntington Beach CA31 openings31
60Riverside CA30 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 west coast?
San Francisco has the most software and engineering openings in the West Coast: 3,320 openings, in a market where engineering is 34% of openings across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
60 cities have at least 30 engineering openings, so the list has 60 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 West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-software-engineering-jobs-in-the-west-coast

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

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