Best all-round cities for remote workers in the West Coast
Key facts
- #1 San Francisco, CA: 92 / 100
- #2 Santa Clara, CA: 85 / 100
- #3 Seattle, WA: 75 / 100
- 39 cities ranked in the West Coast
- Data as of November 2026
- 1San Francisco CA92 / 100
- 2Santa Clara CA85 / 100
- 3Seattle WA75 / 100
- 4Palo Alto CA75 / 100
- 5Mountain View CA73 / 100
- 6Santa Ana CA73 / 100
- 7Oakland CA72 / 100
- 8Redwood City CA68 / 100
- 9Bellevue WA66 / 100
- 10Sacramento CA66 / 100
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: San Francisco leads on 92 / 100, and #10 Sacramento is at 66 / 100.
- Santa Ana reaches #6 on a sample of 277 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
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
San Francisco CA
92 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 8%
- Pay after cost of living
- $186k
- Remote openings
- 972
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 12,335 openings.
- 2
Santa Clara CA
85 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $191k
- Remote openings
- 82
Hiring most here: Nvidia, Pure Storage, Advanced Micro Devices
Based on 1,689 openings.
- 3
Seattle WA
75 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $162k
- Remote openings
- 249
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 5,635 openings.
- 4
Palo Alto CA
75 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $186k
- Remote openings
- 44
Hiring most here: SpaceX, Rivian Automotive, Stanford Health Care
Based on 1,263 openings.
- 5
Mountain View CA
73 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $193k
- Remote openings
- 48
Hiring most here: Intuit, Google, Waymo
Based on 1,637 openings.
- 6
Santa Ana CA
73 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 10%
- Pay after cost of living
- $154k
- Remote openings
- 29
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, First American Financial, Anduril
Based on 277 openings.
- 7
Oakland CA
72 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 6%
- Pay after cost of living
- $163k
- Remote openings
- 35
Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, Blue Shield of California, Fivetran
Based on 609 openings.
- 8
Redwood City CA
68 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 5%
- Pay after cost of living
- $167k
- Remote openings
- 24
Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI
Based on 514 openings.
- 9
Bellevue WA
66 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $184k
- Remote openings
- 42
Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta
Based on 1,455 openings.
- 10
Sacramento CA
66 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $131k
- Remote openings
- 105
Hiring most here: Sutter Health, California Correctional Health Care Services, BKF Engineers
Based on 1,431 openings.
- 11
San Jose CA
65 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $181k
- Remote openings
- 66
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 2,552 openings.
- 12
San Diego CA
63 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $139k
- Remote openings
- 145
Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics
Based on 3,240 openings.
- 13
Sunnyvale CA
62 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 2%
- Pay after cost of living
- $192k
- Remote openings
- 38
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Amazon, Wayve
Based on 1,655 openings.
- 14
Portland OR
61 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 7%
- Pay after cost of living
- $123k
- Remote openings
- 55
Hiring most here: Oregon Health & Science University, Legacy Health, Keen Footwear
Based on 837 openings.
- 15
Los Angeles CA
61 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 4%
- Pay after cost of living
- $136k
- Remote openings
- 239
Hiring most here: K2 Space, Cedars-sinai Medical Center, Apex Space
Based on 5,439 openings.
- 16
Menlo Park CA
60 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $169k
- Remote openings
- 15
Hiring most here: Snowflake, Hippocratic AI, Exponent
Based on 449 openings.
- 18
Corona CA
54 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 8%
- Pay after cost of living
- $102k
- Remote openings
- 12
Hiring most here: Monster Energy Company, Lubrizol, Gallagher
Based on 148 openings.
- 19
Santa Monica CA
52 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $151k
- Remote openings
- 11
Hiring most here: Amazon, Snap, FIGS
Based on 327 openings.
- 20
Everett WA
52 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $171k
- Remote openings
- 6
Hiring most here: Helion Energy, Fortive, Helion
Based on 195 openings.
- 21
San Carlos CA
50 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $176k
- Remote openings
- 6
Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera
Based on 211 openings.
- 22
Irvine CA
50 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $145k
- Remote openings
- 45
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, Rivian Automotive
Based on 1,587 openings.
- 25
Pleasanton CA
42 / 100
- Remote share of openings
- 3%
- Pay after cost of living
- $148k
- Remote openings
- 6
Hiring most here: Kaiser Permanente, 10X Genomics, IonQ
Based on 189 openings.
Full ranking
All 39 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco CA | 92 / 100 | 12,335 |
| 2 | Santa Clara CA | 85 / 100 | 1,689 |
| 3 | Seattle WA | 75 / 100 | 5,635 |
| 4 | Palo Alto CA | 75 / 100 | 1,263 |
| 5 | Mountain View CA | 73 / 100 | 1,637 |
| 6 | Santa Ana CA | 73 / 100 | 277 |
| 7 | Oakland CA | 72 / 100 | 609 |
| 8 | Redwood City CA | 68 / 100 | 514 |
| 9 | Bellevue WA | 66 / 100 | 1,455 |
| 10 | Sacramento CA | 66 / 100 | 1,431 |
| 11 | San Jose CA | 65 / 100 | 2,552 |
| 12 | San Diego CA | 63 / 100 | 3,240 |
| 13 | Sunnyvale CA | 62 / 100 | 1,655 |
| 14 | Portland OR | 61 / 100 | 837 |
| 15 | Los Angeles CA | 61 / 100 | 5,439 |
| 16 | Menlo Park CA | 60 / 100 | 449 |
| 17 | San Mateo CA | 58 / 100 | 960 |
| 18 | Corona CA | 54 / 100 | 148 |
| 19 | Santa Monica CA | 52 / 100 | 327 |
| 20 | Everett WA | 52 / 100 | 195 |
| 21 | San Carlos CA | 50 / 100 | 211 |
| 22 | Irvine CA | 50 / 100 | 1,587 |
| 23 | Renton WA | 50 / 100 | 134 |
| 24 | Alameda CA | 44 / 100 | 215 |
| 25 | Pleasanton CA | 42 / 100 | 189 |
| 26 | Fremont CA | 40 / 100 | 510 |
| 27 | Foster City CA | 35 / 100 | 517 |
| 28 | Torrance CA | 34 / 100 | 745 |
| 29 | Long Beach CA | 33 / 100 | 876 |
| 30 | Redmond WA | 32 / 100 | 1,166 |
| 31 | Culver City CA | 30 / 100 | 252 |
| 32 | Kirkland WA | 30 / 100 | 167 |
| 33 | Berkeley CA | 26 / 100 | 249 |
| 34 | Emeryville CA | 26 / 100 | 122 |
| 35 | El Segundo CA | 25 / 100 | 959 |
| 36 | Milpitas CA | 24 / 100 | 271 |
| 37 | Newark CA | 19 / 100 | 137 |
| 38 | Newport Beach CA | 14 / 100 | 310 |
| 39 | Santa Barbara CA | 10 / 100 | 154 |
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 west coast?
- San Francisco is the best all-round city for remote workers in the West Coast, with a score of 92 / 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): 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 West Coast
- Best college towns for junior jobs in the West Coast
- Cities with the most jobs that need no experience in the West Coast
- Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast
- Cities with the most hybrid jobs in the West Coast
- Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast
- Best all-round cities for remote workers
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best all-round cities for remote workers in the West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-west-coast
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-all-round-cities-for-remote-workers-in-the-west-coast">Best all-round cities for remote workers in the West Coast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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