NextChapter

Best cities for director and executive jobs in the Southwest

Addison leads the Southwest for director and executive jobs: 30% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 17% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Addison, TX: 30%
  • #2 Westlake, TX: 30%
  • #3 Denton, TX: 27%
  • 44 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 17% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Addison TX30%
  2. 2Westlake TX30%
  3. 3Denton TX27%
  4. 4Waco TX26%
  5. 5El Paso TX25%
  6. 6Richardson TX24%
  7. 7Abilene TX22%
  8. 8Frisco TX22%
  9. 9Dallas TX22%
  10. 10Plano TX21%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Addison leads on 30%, and #10 Plano is at 21%.
  • Dallas is the largest market in the top ten, with 4,778 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

Director, VP and executive openings are rare and cluster in headquarters cities. Their share of local openings shows where leadership hiring happens.

How to use it

Senior searches depend on a small number of employers. Follow the employers listed under each city and watch their openings page.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Addison TX

    30%

    Director and above
    65
    All openings
    215
    Median posted pay
    $150k

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

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Addison

  2. 2

    Westlake TX

    30%

    Director and above
    33
    All openings
    111
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Kiewit

    Based on 111 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Westlake

  3. 3

    Denton TX

    27%

    Director and above
    49
    All openings
    181
    Median posted pay
    $69k

    Hiring most here: University of North Texas System, Texas Woman's University, Paccar

    Based on 181 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Denton

  4. 4

    Waco TX

    26%

    Director and above
    41
    All openings
    160
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: Baylor University, L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund

    Based on 160 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Waco

  5. 5

    El Paso TX

    25%

    Director and above
    80
    All openings
    319
    Median posted pay
    $95k

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Tenet Healthcare, Faith Technologies

    Based on 319 openings.

    Jobs and employers in El Paso

  6. 6

    Richardson TX

    24%

    Director and above
    102
    All openings
    433
    Median posted pay
    $146k

    Hiring most here: Celestica, Qorvo, OSI Systems

    Based on 433 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Richardson

  7. 7

    Abilene TX

    22%

    Director and above
    31
    All openings
    139
    Median posted pay
    $148k

    Hiring most here: Oracle, Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University

    Based on 139 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Abilene

  8. 8

    Frisco TX

    22%

    Director and above
    46
    All openings
    207
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Baker Tilly, The Haskell Company, Intuit

    Based on 207 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Frisco

  9. 9

    Dallas TX

    22%

    Director and above
    1,045
    All openings
    4,778
    Median posted pay
    $143k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 4,778 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  10. 10

    Plano TX

    21%

    Director and above
    230
    All openings
    1,109
    Median posted pay
    $137k

    Hiring most here: NTT Data, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase

    Based on 1,109 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Plano

  11. 11

    Las Vegas NV

    20%

    Director and above
    200
    All openings
    980
    Median posted pay
    $115k

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

    Based on 980 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Las Vegas

  12. 12

    Irving TX

    20%

    Director and above
    193
    All openings
    948
    Median posted pay
    $134k

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

    Based on 948 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irving

  13. 13

    Corpus Christi TX

    19%

    Director and above
    24
    All openings
    128
    Median posted pay
    $80k

    Hiring most here: American Electric Power, CHRISTUS Health, Veterans Health Administration

    Based on 128 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Corpus Christi

  14. 14

    Austin TX

    19%

    Director and above
    1,159
    All openings
    6,257
    Median posted pay
    $165k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 6,257 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  15. 15

    Fort Worth TX

    18%

    Director and above
    240
    All openings
    1,339
    Median posted pay
    $115k

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

    Based on 1,339 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fort Worth

  16. 16

    Lewisville TX

    17%

    Director and above
    24
    All openings
    138
    Median posted pay
    $78k

    Hiring most here: Moonshot, Paccar, Quest Diagnostics

    Based on 138 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Lewisville

  17. 17

    Tyler TX

    17%

    Director and above
    23
    All openings
    133
    Median posted pay
    $98k

    Hiring most here: CHRISTUS Health, Trane U.s., Delek US

    Based on 133 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tyler

  18. 18

    Reno NV

    17%

    Director and above
    53
    All openings
    311
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 311 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

  19. 19

    Greenville TX

    17%

    Director and above
    17
    All openings
    100
    Median posted pay
    Not enough pay data

    Hiring most here: L3HARRIS Technologies, Harris Health Strategic Fund, L3HARRIS Technologies Integrated Systems L.P.

    Based on 100 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Greenville

  20. 20

    Phoenix AZ

    17%

    Director and above
    494
    All openings
    2,922
    Median posted pay
    $120k

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

    Based on 2,922 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  21. 21

    San Antonio TX

    17%

    Director and above
    226
    All openings
    1,352
    Median posted pay
    $116k

    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

  22. 22

    The Woodlands TX

    16%

    Director and above
    29
    All openings
    176
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: Entergy, Crane, Waste Connections

    Based on 176 openings.

    Jobs and employers in The Woodlands

  23. 23

    Coppell TX

    16%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    158
    Median posted pay
    $141k

    Hiring most here: Blue Yonder, At Home, Charter Communications

    Based on 158 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Coppell

  24. 24

    Mesa AZ

    16%

    Director and above
    33
    All openings
    201
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Emcor, Legends / ASM Global, Amazon

    Based on 201 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mesa

  25. 25

    Scottsdale AZ

    16%

    Director and above
    123
    All openings
    772
    Median posted pay
    $125k

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

    Based on 772 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Scottsdale

Full ranking

All 44 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Addison TX30%215
2Westlake TX30%111
3Denton TX27%181
4Waco TX26%160
5El Paso TX25%319
6Richardson TX24%433
7Abilene TX22%139
8Frisco TX22%207
9Dallas TX22%4,778
10Plano TX21%1,109
11Las Vegas NV20%980
12Irving TX20%948
13Corpus Christi TX19%128
14Austin TX19%6,257
15Fort Worth TX18%1,339
16Lewisville TX17%138
17Tyler TX17%133
18Reno NV17%311
19Greenville TX17%100
20Phoenix AZ17%2,922
21San Antonio TX17%1,352
22The Woodlands TX16%176
23Coppell TX16%158
24Mesa AZ16%201
25Scottsdale AZ16%772
26Sugar Land TX16%113
27Houston TX16%4,621
28Tucson AZ15%732
29Arlington TX15%206
30Tempe AZ14%688
31Oklahoma City OK14%581
32Carrollton TX13%137
33Tulsa OK13%498
34Amarillo TX12%133
35Chandler AZ11%473
36Katy TX11%114
37Spring TX11%338
38Grand Prairie TX11%204
39Midland TX10%160
40Albuquerque NM9%364
41Sparks NV9%122
42Gilbert AZ8%125
43Lubbock TX8%131
44Brownsville TX6%110

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at director, senior manager, vice president, head-of or C-suite level, read from the full posting text.

Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.

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 on employer career sites, verified in the last week. 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 cities for director and executive jobs in the southwest?
Addison leads the Southwest for director and executive jobs: 30% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 17% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
44 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 44 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at director, senior manager, vice president, head-of or C-suite level, read from the full posting text. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. 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 cities for director and executive jobs in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs-in-the-southwest

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs-in-the-southwest">Best cities for director and executive jobs in the Southwest (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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