NextChapter

Best counties for laid-off professionals in the West Coast

Los Angeles County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the West Coast, with a score of 75 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Los Angeles County, CA: 75 / 100
  • #2 Santa Clara County, CA: 73 / 100
  • #3 Deschutes County, OR: 73 / 100
  • 34 counties ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Los Angeles County CA75 / 100
  2. 2Santa Clara County CA73 / 100
  3. 3Deschutes County OR73 / 100
  4. 4Sacramento County CA68 / 100
  5. 5San Francisco County CA68 / 100
  6. 6Benton County WA68 / 100
  7. 7San Diego County CA67 / 100
  8. 8Orange County CA65 / 100
  9. 9Multnomah County OR64 / 100
  10. 10Spokane County WA63 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Los Angeles County leads on 75 / 100, and #10 Spokane County is at 63 / 100.
  • Deschutes County reaches #3 on a sample of 100 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • San Francisco County is the largest market in the top ten, with 11,689 openings behind its figure.
  • Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

For someone who has lost a job, the useful counties have openings for people looking, job centers to help and unemployment that is falling. This list weighs those with published weights.

How to use it

If you are between jobs, use it to find nearby counties with more going on, and read each county page for its American Job Centers and workforce board.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Los Angeles County CA

    75 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    40
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.4 points

    Based on 10,860 openings.

    Los Angeles County job market

  2. 2

    Santa Clara County CA

    73 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    21
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 9,172 openings.

    Santa Clara County job market

  3. 3

    Deschutes County OR

    73 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.8 points

    Based on 100 openings.

    Deschutes County job market

  4. 4

    Sacramento County CA

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    12
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 1,571 openings.

    Sacramento County job market

  5. 5

    San Francisco County CA

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    58
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 11,689 openings.

    San Francisco County job market

  6. 6

    Benton County WA

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 133 openings.

    Benton County job market

  7. 7

    San Diego County CA

    67 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    5
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 3,888 openings.

    San Diego County job market

  8. 8

    Orange County CA

    65 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    6
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 4,573 openings.

    Orange County job market

  9. 9

    Multnomah County OR

    64 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 843 openings.

    Multnomah County job market

  10. 10

    Spokane County WA

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.4 points

    Based on 179 openings.

    Spokane County job market

  11. 11

    Alameda County CA

    60 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    11
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 2,273 openings.

    Alameda County job market

  12. 12

    Clark County WA

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.5 points

    Based on 174 openings.

    Clark County job market

  13. 13

    Lane County OR

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 132 openings.

    Lane County job market

  14. 14

    King County WA

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    13
    American Job Centers
    5
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 8,591 openings.

    King County job market

  15. 15

    Washington County OR

    52 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.1 points

    Based on 436 openings.

    Washington County job market

  16. 16

    Solano County CA

    51 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 138 openings.

    Solano County job market

  17. 17

    Santa Cruz County CA

    47 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 110 openings.

    Santa Cruz County job market

  18. 18

    San Joaquin County CA

    45 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 193 openings.

    San Joaquin County job market

  19. 19

    San Mateo County CA

    45 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    18
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 2,927 openings.

    San Mateo County job market

  20. 20

    Placer County CA

    44 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 250 openings.

    Placer County job market

  21. 21

    Marin County CA

    44 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 123 openings.

    Marin County job market

  22. 22

    Sonoma County CA

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 211 openings.

    Sonoma County job market

  23. 23

    Contra Costa County CA

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 488 openings.

    Contra Costa County job market

  24. 24

    San Bernardino County CA

    40 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 670 openings.

    San Bernardino County job market

  25. 25

    Kern County CA

    39 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    10
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 325 openings.

    Kern County job market

Full ranking

All 34 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Los Angeles County CA75 / 10010,860
2Santa Clara County CA73 / 1009,172
3Deschutes County OR73 / 100100
4Sacramento County CA68 / 1001,571
5San Francisco County CA68 / 10011,689
6Benton County WA68 / 100133
7San Diego County CA67 / 1003,888
8Orange County CA65 / 1004,573
9Multnomah County OR64 / 100843
10Spokane County WA63 / 100179
11Alameda County CA60 / 1002,273
12Clark County WA55 / 100174
13Lane County OR54 / 100132
14King County WA54 / 1008,591
15Washington County OR52 / 100436
16Solano County CA51 / 100138
17Santa Cruz County CA47 / 100110
18San Joaquin County CA45 / 100193
19San Mateo County CA45 / 1002,927
20Placer County CA44 / 100250
21Marin County CA44 / 100123
22Sonoma County CA43 / 100211
23Contra Costa County CA43 / 100488
24San Bernardino County CA40 / 100670
25Kern County CA39 / 100325
26Riverside County CA38 / 100557
27Santa Barbara County CA37 / 100331
28Pierce County WA37 / 100241
29Snohomish County WA37 / 100371
30Ventura County CA36 / 100318
31San Luis Obispo County CA35 / 100103
32Fresno County CA35 / 100223
33Monterey County CA24 / 100114
34Stanislaus County CA22 / 100138

How this ranking works

A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.

Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.

Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.

Sample bar: counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; CareerOneStop American Job Center directory. 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 county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in the west coast?
Los Angeles County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the West Coast, with a score of 75 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
34 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 34 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.
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 counties for laid-off professionals in the West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-west-coast

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-west-coast">Best counties for laid-off 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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