NextChapter

Best all-round cities for new graduates in the West Coast

Redmond is the best all-round city for new graduates in the West Coast, with a score of 81 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Redmond, WA: 81 / 100
  • #2 Long Beach, CA: 72 / 100
  • #3 Santa Ana, CA: 69 / 100
  • 39 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Redmond WA81 / 100
  2. 2Long Beach CA72 / 100
  3. 3Santa Ana CA69 / 100
  4. 4San Francisco CA64 / 100
  5. 5Torrance CA63 / 100
  6. 6Sacramento CA61 / 100
  7. 7Emeryville CA61 / 100
  8. 8El Segundo CA58 / 100
  9. 9Los Angeles CA57 / 100
  10. 10Sunnyvale CA57 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Redmond leads on 81 / 100, and #10 Sunnyvale is at 57 / 100.
  • Emeryville reaches #7 on a sample of 122 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 12,335 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

    Redmond WA

    81 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    34%
    Pay after cost of living
    $195k
    Entry-level openings
    400

    Hiring most here: Amazon, SpaceX, Microsoft

    Based on 1,166 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Redmond

  2. 2

    Long Beach CA

    72 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $140k
    Entry-level openings
    272

    Hiring most here: Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, Vast

    Based on 876 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Long Beach

  3. 3

    Santa Ana CA

    69 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    31%
    Pay after cost of living
    $154k
    Entry-level openings
    86

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, First American Financial, Anduril

    Based on 277 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Ana

  4. 4

    San Francisco CA

    64 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    18%
    Pay after cost of living
    $186k
    Entry-level openings
    2,266

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 12,335 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  5. 5

    Torrance CA

    63 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    26%
    Pay after cost of living
    $149k
    Entry-level openings
    194

    Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros

    Based on 745 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Torrance

  6. 6

    Sacramento CA

    61 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    32%
    Pay after cost of living
    $131k
    Entry-level openings
    457

    Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, BKF Engineers

    Based on 1,431 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sacramento

  7. 7

    Emeryville CA

    61 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    27%
    Pay after cost of living
    $172k
    Entry-level openings
    33

    Hiring most here: Profluent, Tanium, Eko

    Based on 122 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Emeryville

  8. 8

    El Segundo CA

    58 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    26%
    Pay after cost of living
    $145k
    Entry-level openings
    249

    Hiring most here: Chaos Industries, Radiant, Varda Space Industries

    Based on 959 openings.

    Jobs and employers in El Segundo

  9. 9

    Los Angeles CA

    57 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    24%
    Pay after cost of living
    $136k
    Entry-level openings
    1,311

    Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space

    Based on 5,439 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  10. 10

    Sunnyvale CA

    57 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    19%
    Pay after cost of living
    $192k
    Entry-level openings
    322

    Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Amazon, Wayve

    Based on 1,655 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sunnyvale

  11. 11

    Irvine CA

    55 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    24%
    Pay after cost of living
    $145k
    Entry-level openings
    379

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, Rivian Automotive

    Based on 1,587 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irvine

  12. 12

    Newark CA

    55 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    24%
    Pay after cost of living
    $155k
    Entry-level openings
    33

    Hiring most here: Lucid Motors, Applied Industrial Technologies, Stratus Technologies

    Based on 137 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Newark

  13. 13

    Corona CA

    54 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    32%
    Pay after cost of living
    $102k
    Entry-level openings
    48

    Hiring most here: Monster Energy Company, Lubrizol, Gallagher

    Based on 148 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Corona

  14. 14

    San Mateo CA

    54 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    15%
    Pay after cost of living
    $201k
    Entry-level openings
    147

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 960 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  15. 15

    Santa Barbara CA

    54 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    29%
    Pay after cost of living
    $148k
    Entry-level openings
    44

    Hiring most here: AppFolio, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Arthrex

    Based on 154 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Barbara

  16. 16

    San Carlos CA

    53 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    22%
    Pay after cost of living
    $176k
    Entry-level openings
    46

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

    Based on 211 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Carlos

  17. 17

    Palo Alto CA

    52 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    19%
    Pay after cost of living
    $186k
    Entry-level openings
    241

    Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care

    Based on 1,263 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Palo Alto

  18. 18

    Seattle WA

    52 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    22%
    Pay after cost of living
    $162k
    Entry-level openings
    1,212

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 5,635 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  19. 19

    Everett WA

    51 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    23%
    Pay after cost of living
    $171k
    Entry-level openings
    45

    Hiring most here: Helion Energy, Fortive, Helion

    Based on 195 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Everett

  20. 20

    San Jose CA

    51 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    19%
    Pay after cost of living
    $181k
    Entry-level openings
    484

    Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems

    Based on 2,552 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Jose

  21. 21

    Alameda CA

    51 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    21%
    Pay after cost of living
    $176k
    Entry-level openings
    45

    Hiring most here: Saildrone, Abbott, Penumbra

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Alameda

  22. 22

    Kirkland WA

    51 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    23%
    Pay after cost of living
    $160k
    Entry-level openings
    39

    Hiring most here: Echodyne, Amazon, Google

    Based on 167 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Kirkland

  23. 23

    Fremont CA

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    23%
    Pay after cost of living
    $152k
    Entry-level openings
    119

    Hiring most here: LAM Research, Coherent, Agility Robotics

    Based on 510 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fremont

  24. 24

    Mountain View CA

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    13%
    Pay after cost of living
    $193k
    Entry-level openings
    207

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Google, Waymo

    Based on 1,637 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mountain View

  25. 25

    Santa Clara CA

    50 / 100

    Entry-level share of openings
    16%
    Pay after cost of living
    $191k
    Entry-level openings
    262

    Hiring most here: Nvidia, Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices

    Based on 1,689 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Clara

Full ranking

All 39 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Redmond WA81 / 1001,166
2Long Beach CA72 / 100876
3Santa Ana CA69 / 100277
4San Francisco CA64 / 10012,335
5Torrance CA63 / 100745
6Sacramento CA61 / 1001,431
7Emeryville CA61 / 100122
8El Segundo CA58 / 100959
9Los Angeles CA57 / 1005,439
10Sunnyvale CA57 / 1001,655
11Irvine CA55 / 1001,587
12Newark CA55 / 100137
13Corona CA54 / 100148
14San Mateo CA54 / 100960
15Santa Barbara CA54 / 100154
16San Carlos CA53 / 100211
17Palo Alto CA52 / 1001,263
18Seattle WA52 / 1005,635
19Everett WA51 / 100195
20San Jose CA51 / 1002,552
21Alameda CA51 / 100215
22Kirkland WA51 / 100167
23Fremont CA50 / 100510
24Mountain View CA50 / 1001,637
25Santa Clara CA50 / 1001,689
26Portland OR47 / 100837
27Renton WA46 / 100134
28San Diego CA45 / 1003,240
29Bellevue WA44 / 1001,455
30Milpitas CA44 / 100271
31Redwood City CA41 / 100514
32Foster City CA40 / 100517
33Oakland CA39 / 100609
34Pleasanton CA38 / 100189
35Menlo Park CA37 / 100449
36Culver City CA31 / 100252
37Santa Monica CA27 / 100327
38Newport Beach CA27 / 100310
39Berkeley CA20 / 100249

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 west coast?
Redmond is the best all-round city for new graduates in the West Coast, with a score of 81 / 100.
How many cities are ranked?
39 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 39 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 West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-new-graduates-in-the-west-coast

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

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

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