NextChapter

Best cities for director and executive jobs in the West Coast

Foster City leads the West Coast for director and executive jobs: 38% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 18% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Foster City, CA: 38%
  • #2 Redwood City, CA: 32%
  • #3 Alameda, CA: 27%
  • 71 cities ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 18% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Foster City CA38%
  2. 2Redwood City CA32%
  3. 3Alameda CA27%
  4. 4Emeryville CA27%
  5. 5Stockton CA26%
  6. 6Eugene OR25%
  7. 7Modesto CA25%
  8. 8Newport Beach CA24%
  9. 9Oakland CA23%
  10. 10San Diego CA23%

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: Foster City (38%) is well clear of San Diego at #10 (23%).
  • Modesto reaches #7 on a sample of 105 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • San Diego is the largest market in the top ten, with 3,240 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

    Foster City CA

    38%

    Director and above
    194
    All openings
    517
    Median posted pay
    $232k

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit

    Based on 517 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Foster City

  2. 2

    Redwood City CA

    32%

    Director and above
    162
    All openings
    514
    Median posted pay
    $193k

    Hiring most here: Corcept Therapeutics, SB Energy, C3 AI

    Based on 514 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Redwood City

  3. 3

    Alameda CA

    27%

    Director and above
    59
    All openings
    215
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Saildrone, Abbott, Penumbra

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Alameda

  4. 4

    Emeryville CA

    27%

    Director and above
    33
    All openings
    122
    Median posted pay
    $190k

    Hiring most here: Profluent, Tanium, Eko

    Based on 122 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Emeryville

  5. 5

    Stockton CA

    26%

    Director and above
    31
    All openings
    121
    Median posted pay
    $123k

    Hiring most here: Amazon

    Based on 121 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Stockton

  6. 6

    Eugene OR

    25%

    Director and above
    28
    All openings
    112
    Median posted pay
    $122k

    Hiring most here: University of Oregon, Sinclair

    Based on 112 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Eugene

  7. 7

    Modesto CA

    25%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    105
    Median posted pay
    $127k

    Hiring most here: E. & J. Gallo, Tenet Healthcare, Sutter Health

    Based on 105 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Modesto

  8. 8

    Newport Beach CA

    24%

    Director and above
    75
    All openings
    310
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: Pacific Life, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Chipotle Mexican Grill

    Based on 310 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Newport Beach

  9. 9

    Oakland CA

    23%

    Director and above
    142
    All openings
    609
    Median posted pay
    $181k

    Hiring most here: Pacific Gas & Electric, Blue Shield of California, Fivetran

    Based on 609 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oakland

  10. 10

    San Diego CA

    23%

    Director and above
    748
    All openings
    3,240
    Median posted pay
    $155k

    Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics

    Based on 3,240 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Diego

  11. 11

    Santa Clara CA

    23%

    Director and above
    384
    All openings
    1,689
    Median posted pay
    $212k

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

    Based on 1,689 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Clara

  12. 12

    Los Angeles CA

    23%

    Director and above
    1,235
    All openings
    5,439
    Median posted pay
    $155k

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

    Based on 5,439 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  13. 13

    Sacramento CA

    23%

    Director and above
    324
    All openings
    1,431
    Median posted pay
    $140k

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

    Based on 1,431 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sacramento

  14. 14

    Santa Monica CA

    23%

    Director and above
    74
    All openings
    327
    Median posted pay
    $167k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Snap, FIGS

    Based on 327 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Monica

  15. 15

    San Jose CA

    22%

    Director and above
    571
    All openings
    2,552
    Median posted pay
    $200k

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

    Based on 2,552 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Jose

  16. 16

    San Mateo CA

    22%

    Director and above
    214
    All openings
    960
    Median posted pay
    $232k

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 960 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  17. 17

    Berkeley CA

    22%

    Director and above
    55
    All openings
    249
    Median posted pay
    $166k

    Hiring most here: Form Energy, University of California, Berkeley, Rigetti Computing

    Based on 249 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Berkeley

  18. 18

    Pleasanton CA

    21%

    Director and above
    40
    All openings
    189
    Median posted pay
    $164k

    Hiring most here: Kaiser Permanente, 10X Genomics, IonQ

    Based on 189 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Pleasanton

  19. 19

    Salem OR

    21%

    Director and above
    26
    All openings
    123
    Median posted pay
    $128k

    Hiring most here: Agility Robotics, Garmin, Northwest Human Services

    Based on 123 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Salem

  20. 20

    Menlo Park CA

    21%

    Director and above
    94
    All openings
    449
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Snowflake, Hippocratic AI, Exponent

    Based on 449 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Menlo Park

  21. 21

    Renton WA

    20%

    Director and above
    27
    All openings
    134
    Median posted pay
    $149k

    Hiring most here: Hasbro, Paccar, Michels

    Based on 134 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Renton

  22. 22

    Culver City CA

    20%

    Director and above
    50
    All openings
    252
    Median posted pay
    $141k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Scopely, Apple

    Based on 252 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Culver City

  23. 23

    Brea CA

    20%

    Director and above
    20
    All openings
    101
    Median posted pay
    $115k

    Hiring most here: Envista Holdings, Emeraldtechnologies, Howmet Aerospace

    Based on 101 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Brea

  24. 24

    Glendale CA

    19%

    Director and above
    38
    All openings
    195
    Median posted pay
    $148k

    Hiring most here: Gallagher, Arthur J. Gallagher, Gallagher Bassett

    Based on 195 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Glendale

  25. 25

    Irvine CA

    19%

    Director and above
    308
    All openings
    1,587
    Median posted pay
    $160k

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

    Based on 1,587 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irvine

Full ranking

All 71 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1Foster City CA38%517
2Redwood City CA32%514
3Alameda CA27%215
4Emeryville CA27%122
5Stockton CA26%121
6Eugene OR25%112
7Modesto CA25%105
8Newport Beach CA24%310
9Oakland CA23%609
10San Diego CA23%3,240
11Santa Clara CA23%1,689
12Los Angeles CA23%5,439
13Sacramento CA23%1,431
14Santa Monica CA23%327
15San Jose CA22%2,552
16San Mateo CA22%960
17Berkeley CA22%249
18Pleasanton CA21%189
19Salem OR21%123
20Menlo Park CA21%449
21Renton WA20%134
22Culver City CA20%252
23Brea CA20%101
24Glendale CA19%195
25Irvine CA19%1,587
26San Francisco CA19%12,335
27Pasadena CA19%278
28Beverly Hills CA19%151
29Spokane WA18%157
30Riverside CA18%176
31Santa Barbara CA18%154
32Bothell WA18%138
33Walnut Creek CA18%177
34Palo Alto CA18%1,263
35Burbank CA18%147
36Orange CA18%142
37Fresno CA17%214
38Portland OR17%837
39Carlsbad CA17%313
40Vancouver WA17%163
41Bakersfield CA16%116
42San Leandro CA16%104
43Palmdale CA16%132
44Beaverton OR15%120
45Seattle WA14%5,635
46Sunnyvale CA14%1,655
47Kirkland WA14%167
48Hayward CA14%109
49Santa Rosa CA14%154
50Mountain View CA13%1,637
51El Segundo CA13%959
52Anaheim CA13%180
53Newark CA13%137
54Tacoma WA13%123
55San Carlos CA13%211
56Fremont CA13%510
57Bellevue WA12%1,455
58Roseville CA12%167
59Santa Ana CA12%277
60Everett WA12%195
61Corona CA11%148
62Huntington Beach CA11%105
63Hillsboro OR11%187
64Torrance CA11%745
65Livermore CA11%117
66Milpitas CA11%271
67Goleta CA9%110
68Redmond WA9%1,166
69Long Beach CA8%876
70Richland WA6%105
71Kent WA4%149

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 west coast?
Foster City leads the West Coast for director and executive jobs: 38% of its professional openings are director level or above, against 18% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
71 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 71 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 West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-director-and-executive-jobs-in-the-west-coast

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

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

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