NextChapter

Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Northeast

Boston is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Northeast, with a score of 92 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Boston, MA: 92 / 100
  • #2 New York, NY: 89 / 100
  • #3 Cambridge, MA: 88 / 100
  • 26 cities ranked in the Northeast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Boston MA92 / 100
  2. 2New York NY89 / 100
  3. 3Cambridge MA88 / 100
  4. 4Waltham MA84 / 100
  5. 5Jersey City NJ79 / 100
  6. 6Somerville MA78 / 100
  7. 7Princeton NJ75 / 100
  8. 8Watertown MA75 / 100
  9. 9Lexington MA69 / 100
  10. 10Brooklyn NY57 / 100

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Boston (92 / 100) is well clear of Brooklyn at #10 (57 / 100).
  • Watertown reaches #8 on a sample of 146 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 22,145 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

Careers that use AI cluster in a few places. This list weighs the share and number of openings that ask for AI skills and the pay they offer, to show where AI work is concentrated.

How to use it

If you are building AI skills, the top cities show where the employers and the roles are. The gap between your city and the top is a guide to what to add to your résumé.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Boston MA

    92 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    21%
    AI-skill openings
    1,143
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Confidential, Takeda Development Center Americas

    Based on 5,338 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  2. 2

    New York NY

    89 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    20%
    AI-skill openings
    4,428
    Median posted pay
    $169k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 22,145 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  3. 3

    Cambridge MA

    88 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    15%
    AI-skill openings
    176
    Median posted pay
    $198k

    Hiring most here: Harvard University, Biogen, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

    Based on 1,204 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Cambridge

  4. 4

    Waltham MA

    84 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    15%
    AI-skill openings
    97
    Median posted pay
    $193k

    Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry

    Based on 634 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Waltham

  5. 5

    Jersey City NJ

    79 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    16%
    AI-skill openings
    108
    Median posted pay
    $162k

    Hiring most here: DTCC, JPMorgan Chase, Verisk Analytics

    Based on 679 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Jersey City

  6. 6

    Somerville MA

    78 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    19%
    AI-skill openings
    68
    Median posted pay
    $164k

    Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines

    Based on 354 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Somerville

  7. 7

    Princeton NJ

    75 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    12%
    AI-skill openings
    52
    Median posted pay
    $191k

    Hiring most here: Genmab A/S, Otsuka, ZS Associates

    Based on 439 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Princeton

  8. 8

    Watertown MA

    75 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    15%
    AI-skill openings
    22
    Median posted pay
    $205k

    Hiring most here: Tutor Intelligence, Kymera Therapeutics, Treeline Biosciences

    Based on 146 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Watertown

  9. 9

    Lexington MA

    69 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    11%
    AI-skill openings
    29
    Median posted pay
    $172k

    Hiring most here: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Lincoln Lab), Takeda Development Center Americas, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

    Based on 253 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Lexington

  10. 10

    Brooklyn NY

    57 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    11%
    AI-skill openings
    75
    Median posted pay
    $142k

    Hiring most here: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Williams-Sonoma, Etsy

    Based on 693 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Brooklyn

  11. 11

    Stamford CT

    56 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    10%
    AI-skill openings
    33
    Median posted pay
    $145k

    Hiring most here: Philip Morris International, Gartner, Charter Communications

    Based on 336 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Stamford

  12. 12

    Philadelphia PA

    53 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    7%
    AI-skill openings
    140
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Hiring most here: Confidential, GSK, Comcast

    Based on 1,960 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Philadelphia

  13. 13

    Newark NJ

    50 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    10%
    AI-skill openings
    44
    Median posted pay
    $138k

    Hiring most here: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Amazon, Audible

    Based on 455 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Newark

  14. 14

    Burlington MA

    49 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    8%
    AI-skill openings
    19
    Median posted pay
    $148k

    Hiring most here: Veracode, Vericel, Tufts Medicine Care AT Home

    Based on 227 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Burlington

  15. 15

    Pittsburgh PA

    46 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    6%
    AI-skill openings
    100
    Median posted pay
    $131k

    Hiring most here: PNC Financial Services Group, Highmark Health, UPMC

    Based on 1,592 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Pittsburgh

  16. 16

    Hartford CT

    41 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    8%
    AI-skill openings
    28
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Hiring most here: CVS HEALTH, Hartford HealthCare, Eversource Energy

    Based on 366 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Hartford

  17. 17

    Quincy MA

    37 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    4%
    AI-skill openings
    7
    Median posted pay
    $161k

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Anduril, J.Jill

    Based on 169 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Quincy

  18. 18

    White Plains NY

    31 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    7%
    AI-skill openings
    16
    Median posted pay
    $138k

    Hiring most here: New York Power Authority, FormativGroup, RWE Clean Energy

    Based on 229 openings.

    Jobs and employers in White Plains

  19. 19

    Harrisburg PA

    29 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    3%
    AI-skill openings
    9
    Median posted pay
    $140k

    Hiring most here: GSK, Michels, Parsons

    Based on 300 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Harrisburg

  20. 20

    Albany NY

    27 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    7%
    AI-skill openings
    27
    Median posted pay
    $119k

    Hiring most here: KPMG, New York State, Broadview Credit Union

    Based on 397 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Albany

  21. 21

    Buffalo NY

    24 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    4%
    AI-skill openings
    19
    Median posted pay
    $128k

    Hiring most here: Moog Military Aircraft, M&T Bank, Moog

    Based on 461 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Buffalo

  22. 22

    Parsippany NJ

    20 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    2%
    AI-skill openings
    6
    Median posted pay
    $147k

    Hiring most here: Langan, Clark Davis Associates, Ferrero North America

    Based on 274 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Parsippany

  23. 23

    United PA

    19 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    3%
    AI-skill openings
    6
    Median posted pay
    $135k

    Based on 234 openings.

  24. 24

    Rochester NY

    15 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    3%
    AI-skill openings
    17
    Median posted pay
    $101k

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Based on 537 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Rochester

  25. 25

    Syracuse NY

    8 / 100

    AI-skill share of openings
    2%
    AI-skill openings
    8
    Median posted pay
    $120k

    Hiring most here: Upstate Medical University, Hidden Level, HII Mission Technologies

    Based on 419 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Syracuse

Full ranking

All 26 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Boston MA92 / 1005,338
2New York NY89 / 10022,145
3Cambridge MA88 / 1001,204
4Waltham MA84 / 100634
5Jersey City NJ79 / 100679
6Somerville MA78 / 100354
7Princeton NJ75 / 100439
8Watertown MA75 / 100146
9Lexington MA69 / 100253
10Brooklyn NY57 / 100693
11Stamford CT56 / 100336
12Philadelphia PA53 / 1001,960
13Newark NJ50 / 100455
14Burlington MA49 / 100227
15Pittsburgh PA46 / 1001,592
16Hartford CT41 / 100366
17Quincy MA37 / 100169
18White Plains NY31 / 100229
19Harrisburg PA29 / 100300
20Albany NY27 / 100397
21Buffalo NY24 / 100461
22Parsippany NJ20 / 100274
23United PA19 / 100234
24Rochester NY15 / 100537
25Syracuse NY8 / 100419
26Woburn MA8 / 100180

How this ranking works

A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): ai-skill share of openings 35%, ai-skill openings 30%, median posted pay 20%, pay after cost of living 15%.

A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most.

Only cities with enough openings and pay data are 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 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024. 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 all-round cities for ai careers in the northeast?
Boston is the best all-round city for AI careers in the Northeast, with a score of 92 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
26 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 26 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked cities (100 is first, 0 is last): ai-skill share of openings 35%, ai-skill openings 30%, median posted pay 20%, pay after cost of living 15%. A score of 100 would mean first on every measure and 50 is the middle of the pack. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here; they are a judgment about what matters to this reader, so use the single-measure rankings when one thing matters most. Only cities with enough openings and pay data are 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 all-round cities for AI careers in the Northeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-northeast

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-ai-careers-in-the-northeast">Best all-round cities for AI careers in the Northeast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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