NextChapter

Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Southwest

San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 67 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 San Antonio, TX: 67 / 100
  • #2 Austin, TX: 65 / 100
  • #3 Scottsdale, AZ: 59 / 100
  • 15 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1San Antonio TX67 / 100
  2. 2Austin TX65 / 100
  3. 3Scottsdale AZ59 / 100
  4. 4Las Vegas NV57 / 100
  5. 5Reno NV56 / 100
  6. 6Tempe AZ55 / 100
  7. 7Dallas TX51 / 100
  8. 8Plano TX50 / 100
  9. 9Addison TX50 / 100
  10. 10Houston TX48 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: San Antonio leads on 67 / 100, and #10 Houston is at 48 / 100.
  • Addison reaches #9 on a sample of 215 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Austin is the largest market in the top ten, with 6,257 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

New graduates need a place with many entry-level roles, pay that covers the cost of living and employers that state their pay. This list weighs those together and shows the weights, so it ranks the all-round picture rather than one number.

How to use it

Start with the top ten and read each city's numbers against what you value most. If one thing matters most to you, such as pay, switch to the single-measure list for it.

The top 25

  1. 1

    San Antonio TX

    67 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    35%
    Pay after cost of living
    $123k
    Entry-level openings
    467

    Hiring most here: H-E-B, University Health San Antonio, UT Health San Antonio

    Based on 1,352 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Antonio

  2. 2

    Austin TX

    65 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    25%
    Pay after cost of living
    $168k
    Entry-level openings
    1,549

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 6,257 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  3. 3

    Scottsdale AZ

    59 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $124k
    Entry-level openings
    242

    Hiring most here: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Axon Enterprise, AMI Semiconductor

    Based on 772 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Scottsdale

  4. 4

    Las Vegas NV

    57 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $115k
    Entry-level openings
    308

    Hiring most here: Caesars Entertainment, Allegiant Travel Company, Jt4

    Based on 980 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Las Vegas

  5. 5

    Reno NV

    56 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $132k
    Entry-level openings
    95

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 311 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

  6. 6

    Tempe AZ

    55 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    33%
    Pay after cost of living
    $124k
    Entry-level openings
    226

    Hiring most here: Carvana, Amazon, Viasat

    Based on 688 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tempe

  7. 7

    Dallas TX

    51 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    25%
    Pay after cost of living
    $138k
    Entry-level openings
    1,179

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 4,778 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  8. 8

    Plano TX

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    28%
    Pay after cost of living
    $141k
    Entry-level openings
    312

    Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 1,109 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Plano

  9. 9

    Addison TX

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    27%
    Pay after cost of living
    $155k
    Entry-level openings
    57

    Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Addison

  10. 10

    Houston TX

    48 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    27%
    Pay after cost of living
    $127k
    Entry-level openings
    1,249

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Fervo Energy, Trinzic

    Based on 4,621 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  11. 11

    Phoenix AZ

    47 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    29%
    Pay after cost of living
    $116k
    Entry-level openings
    841

    Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology

    Based on 2,922 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  12. 12

    Fort Worth TX

    42 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    30%
    Pay after cost of living
    $112k
    Entry-level openings
    403

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Services, MP Materials

    Based on 1,339 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fort Worth

  13. 13

    Oklahoma City OK

    40 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $123k
    Entry-level openings
    182

    Hiring most here: Love's Travel Stops, CACI International, Northrop Grumman

    Based on 581 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oklahoma City

  14. 14

    Irving TX

    34 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    24%
    Pay after cost of living
    $138k
    Entry-level openings
    232

    Hiring most here: Mckesson, CHRISTUS Health, 7-Eleven

    Based on 948 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irving

  15. 15

    Tucson AZ

    30 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    26%
    Pay after cost of living
    $125k
    Entry-level openings
    192

    Hiring most here: RTX, University of Arizona, Raytheon

    Based on 732 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tucson

Full ranking

All 15 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1San Antonio TX67 / 1001,352
2Austin TX65 / 1006,257
3Scottsdale AZ59 / 100772
4Las Vegas NV57 / 100980
5Reno NV56 / 100311
6Tempe AZ55 / 100688
7Dallas TX51 / 1004,778
8Plano TX50 / 1001,109
9Addison TX50 / 100215
10Houston TX48 / 1004,621
11Phoenix AZ47 / 1002,922
12Fort Worth TX42 / 1001,339
13Oklahoma City OK40 / 100581
14Irving TX34 / 100948
15Tucson AZ30 / 100732

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): 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.

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 new graduates in the southwest?
San Antonio is the best all-round city for new graduates in the Southwest, with a score of 67 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
15 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 15 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): 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.
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 new graduates in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-southwest

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-southwest">Best all-round cities for new graduates in the Southwest (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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