{"h1":"Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Mountain West","faq":[{"a":"Salt Lake City is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Mountain West, with a score of 66 / 100.","q":"Which city ranks first: best all-round cities for new graduates in the mountain west?"},{"a":"11 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 11 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"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): entry-level share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 25%, entry-level openings 20%, openings with pay posted 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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Salt Lake City is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Mountain West, with a score of 66 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":1102,"bar":1,"key":"UT|salt lake city","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/salt-lake-city","name":"Salt Lake City","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"28%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$137k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"309"}],"value":66,"change":null,"employers":["L3HARRIS Technologies","iCapital","Harris Health Strategic Fund"],"valueLabel":"66 / 100"},{"n":391,"bar":0.9696969696969697,"key":"ID|boise","sub":"ID","href":null,"name":"Boise","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"32%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$131k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"124"}],"value":64,"change":null,"employers":["Simplot Company Foundation","Micron","Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories"],"valueLabel":"64 / 100"},{"n":347,"bar":0.9242424242424242,"key":"CO|aurora","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/aurora","name":"Aurora","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"29%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$139k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"99"}],"value":61,"change":null,"employers":["CACI International","Northrop Grumman","RTX"],"valueLabel":"61 / 100"},{"n":454,"bar":0.8977272727272727,"key":"CO|boulder","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/boulder","name":"Boulder","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"26%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$144k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"119"}],"value":59.25,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Scitec Innovations","Atom Computing"],"valueLabel":"59 / 100"},{"n":980,"bar":0.7878787878787878,"key":"NV|las vegas","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/las-vegas","name":"Las Vegas","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"31%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$115k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"308"}],"value":52,"change":null,"employers":["Caesars Entertainment","Allegiant Travel Company","Jt4"],"valueLabel":"52 / 100"},{"n":311,"bar":0.7727272727272727,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"31%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$132k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"95"}],"value":51,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"51 / 100"},{"n":2996,"bar":0.7348484848484849,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"25%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$133k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"760"}],"value":48.5,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"49 / 100"},{"n":294,"bar":0.7007575757575758,"key":"CO|broomfield","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/broomfield","name":"Broomfield","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"26%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$144k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"77"}],"value":46.25,"change":null,"employers":["BAE Systems","Crocs","Katalyst Ventures"],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":264,"bar":0.5303030303030303,"key":"CO|westminster","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/westminster","name":"Westminster","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"22%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$143k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"58"}],"value":35,"change":null,"employers":["CesiumAstro","BAE Systems","Loenbro"],"valueLabel":"35 / 100"},{"n":712,"bar":0.5151515151515151,"key":"CO|colorado springs","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/colorado-springs","name":"Colorado Springs","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"27%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"192"}],"value":34,"change":null,"employers":["Northrop Grumman","Trinzic","Odyssey Systems Consulting"],"valueLabel":"34 / 100"},{"n":266,"bar":0.5,"key":"CO|englewood","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/englewood","name":"Englewood","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level share of openings","value":"27%"},{"label":"Pay after cost of living","value":"$118k"},{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"73"}],"value":33,"change":null,"employers":["General Atomics","Sargent & Lundy","Lockheed Martin"],"valueLabel":"33 / 100"}],"slug":"best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-mountain-west","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"mountain-west","kind":"region","name":"Mountain West"},"title":"Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Mountain West","family":"Best overall","method":["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): entry-level share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 25%, entry-level openings 20%, openings with pay posted 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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"cgrad","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles and posted pay","Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Salt Lake City, UT: 66 / 100","#2 Boise, ID: 64 / 100","#3 Aurora, CO: 61 / 100","11 cities ranked in the Mountain West","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: Salt Lake City (66 / 100) is well clear of Colorado Springs at #10 (34 / 100).","Denver is the largest market in the top ten, with 2,996 openings behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-mountain-west"}