Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Southwest
Key facts
- #1 Austin, TX: 100 / 100
- #2 Dallas, TX: 89 / 100
- #3 Phoenix, AZ: 64 / 100
- 15 cities ranked in the Southwest
- Data as of November 2026
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Austin (100 / 100) is well clear of Irving at #10 (43 / 100).
- Addison reaches #4 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
Remote work is attached to a city by the employer's base. This list weighs how many openings are remote, how many there are and what the pay is worth locally, to show which cities hire remotely in volume.
How to use it
If you want a remote role, the top cities show where the employers are. You can live elsewhere and still apply to them as a remote candidate.
The top 25
- 1
Austin TX
100 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $168k
- Remote openings
- 457
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 6,257 openings.
- 2
Dallas TX
89 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $138k
- Remote openings
- 311
Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments
Based on 4,778 openings.
- 3
Phoenix AZ
64 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 6%
- Pay after cost of living
- $116k
- Remote openings
- 174
Hiring most here: Honeywell Aerospace, State of Arizona, American Society for Microbiology
Based on 2,922 openings.
- 4
Addison TX
59 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $155k
- Remote openings
- 9
Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America
Based on 215 openings.
- 5
Houston TX
58 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $127k
- Remote openings
- 150
Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Fervo Energy, Trinzic
Based on 4,621 openings.
- 6
Las Vegas NV
55 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $115k
- Remote openings
- 51
Hiring most here: Caesars Entertainment, Allegiant Travel Company, Jt4
Based on 980 openings.
- 7
San Antonio TX
48 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $123k
- Remote openings
- 44
Hiring most here: H-E-B, University Health San Antonio, UT Health San Antonio
Based on 1,352 openings.
- 8
Plano TX
46 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $141k
- Remote openings
- 25
Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase
Based on 1,109 openings.
- 10
Irving TX
43 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $138k
- Remote openings
- 24
Hiring most here: Mckesson, CHRISTUS Health, 7-Eleven
Based on 948 openings.
- 11
Oklahoma City OK
41 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $123k
- Remote openings
- 22
Hiring most here: Love's Travel Stops, CACI International, Northrop Grumman
Based on 581 openings.
- 12
Reno NV
38 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $132k
- Remote openings
- 10
Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment
Based on 311 openings.
- 13
Scottsdale AZ
30 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $124k
- Remote openings
- 20
Hiring most here: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Axon Enterprise, AMI Semiconductor
Based on 772 openings.
- 14
Fort Worth TX
20 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $112k
- Remote openings
- 30
Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin Services, MP Materials
Based on 1,339 openings.
Full ranking
All 15 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin TX | 100 / 100 | 6,257 |
| 2 | Dallas TX | 89 / 100 | 4,778 |
| 3 | Phoenix AZ | 64 / 100 | 2,922 |
| 4 | Addison TX | 59 / 100 | 215 |
| 5 | Houston TX | 58 / 100 | 4,621 |
| 6 | Las Vegas NV | 55 / 100 | 980 |
| 7 | San Antonio TX | 48 / 100 | 1,352 |
| 8 | Plano TX | 46 / 100 | 1,109 |
| 9 | Tempe AZ | 45 / 100 | 688 |
| 10 | Irving TX | 43 / 100 | 948 |
| 11 | Oklahoma City OK | 41 / 100 | 581 |
| 12 | Reno NV | 38 / 100 | 311 |
| 13 | Scottsdale AZ | 30 / 100 | 772 |
| 14 | Fort Worth TX | 20 / 100 | 1,339 |
| 15 | Tucson AZ | 15 / 100 | 732 |
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): remote share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 30%, remote openings 30%.
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 remote workers in the southwest?
- Austin is the best all-round city for remote workers in the Southwest, with a score of 100 / 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): remote share of openings 40%, pay after cost of living 30%, remote openings 30%. 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
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Southwest
- Best college towns for junior jobs in the Southwest
- Cities with the most jobs that need no experience in the Southwest
- Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the Southwest
- Cities with the most hybrid jobs in the Southwest
- Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest
- Best all-round cities for remote workers
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-southwest
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-southwest">Best all-round cities for remote workers in the Southwest (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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