NextChapter

Best cities for junior jobs in the Southwest

Lubbock leads the Southwest for junior jobs: 43% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 29% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Lubbock, TX: 43%
  • #2 Albuquerque, NM: 39%
  • #3 Corpus Christi, TX: 38%
  • 44 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 29% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Lubbock TX43%
  2. 2Albuquerque NM39%
  3. 3Corpus Christi TX38%
  4. 4Coppell TX37%
  5. 5Amarillo TX37%
  6. 6Midland TX36%
  7. 7Lewisville TX36%
  8. 8Carrollton TX36%
  9. 9Sugar Land TX35%
  10. 10Arlington TX35%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Lubbock leads on 43%, and #10 Arlington is at 35%.
  • Albuquerque is the largest market in the top ten, with 364 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

Entry-level hiring is concentrated in some metro areas and thin in others. The share of openings pitched at entry or early-career level shows where a first or second job is easiest to find.

How to use it

If you are early in your career, start your search in the places near the top and read their employer lists. Places lower down can still have entry roles, but they make up a smaller part of what is open.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Lubbock TX

    43%

    Entry-level openings
    56
    All openings
    131
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: Prosperity Bancshares, Johnson Controls International, Terracon Consultants

    Based on 131 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Lubbock

  2. 2

    Albuquerque NM

    39%

    Entry-level openings
    142
    All openings
    364
    Openings with pay posted
    6%

    Hiring most here: University of New Mexico-Main Campus, Rocket Lab, Kairos Power

    Based on 364 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Albuquerque

  3. 3

    Corpus Christi TX

    38%

    Entry-level openings
    49
    All openings
    128
    Openings with pay posted
    16%

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

    Based on 128 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Corpus Christi

  4. 4

    Coppell TX

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    59
    All openings
    158
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

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

    Based on 158 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Coppell

  5. 5

    Amarillo TX

    37%

    Entry-level openings
    49
    All openings
    133
    Openings with pay posted
    9%

    Hiring most here: Mortenson, Veterans Health Administration, Xcel Energy

    Based on 133 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Amarillo

  6. 6

    Midland TX

    36%

    Entry-level openings
    58
    All openings
    160
    Openings with pay posted
    7%

    Hiring most here: Patterson UTI Energy, AST SpaceMobile, SM Energy

    Based on 160 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Midland

  7. 7

    Lewisville TX

    36%

    Entry-level openings
    50
    All openings
    138
    Openings with pay posted
    9%

    Hiring most here: Moonshot, Paccar, Quest Diagnostics

    Based on 138 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Lewisville

  8. 8

    Carrollton TX

    36%

    Entry-level openings
    49
    All openings
    137
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: MB2 Dental, Trane U.s., PennyMac Financial Services

    Based on 137 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Carrollton

  9. 9

    Sugar Land TX

    35%

    Entry-level openings
    40
    All openings
    113
    Openings with pay posted
    5%

    Hiring most here: SLB, IES Holdings, ABM Industries

    Based on 113 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sugar Land

  10. 10

    Arlington TX

    35%

    Entry-level openings
    72
    All openings
    206
    Openings with pay posted
    11%

    Hiring most here: GM Financial, Lockheed Martin, Texas Health Resources

    Based on 206 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Arlington

  11. 11

    San Antonio TX

    35%

    Entry-level openings
    467
    All openings
    1,352
    Openings with pay posted
    11%

    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

  12. 12

    Sparks NV

    34%

    Entry-level openings
    42
    All openings
    122
    Openings with pay posted
    7%

    Hiring most here: Panasonic Energy North America, Amazon, Fleet

    Based on 122 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sparks

  13. 13

    Tyler TX

    34%

    Entry-level openings
    45
    All openings
    133
    Openings with pay posted
    7%

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

    Based on 133 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tyler

  14. 14

    Waco TX

    33%

    Entry-level openings
    53
    All openings
    160
    Openings with pay posted
    3%

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

    Based on 160 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Waco

  15. 15

    Frisco TX

    33%

    Entry-level openings
    68
    All openings
    207
    Openings with pay posted
    17%

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

    Based on 207 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Frisco

  16. 16

    Tempe AZ

    33%

    Entry-level openings
    226
    All openings
    688
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: Carvana, Amazon, Viasat

    Based on 688 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tempe

  17. 17

    Chandler AZ

    32%

    Entry-level openings
    153
    All openings
    473
    Openings with pay posted
    6%

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Bechtel Energy, Ralliant

    Based on 473 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chandler

  18. 18

    Gilbert AZ

    32%

    Entry-level openings
    40
    All openings
    125
    Openings with pay posted
    12%

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Loenbro, Deloitte

    Based on 125 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Gilbert

  19. 19

    Brownsville TX

    32%

    Entry-level openings
    35
    All openings
    110
    Openings with pay posted
    13%

    Hiring most here: Worley Group, Saronic Technologies, Nexstar Media Group

    Based on 110 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Brownsville

  20. 20

    Las Vegas NV

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    308
    All openings
    980
    Openings with pay posted
    15%

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

    Based on 980 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Las Vegas

  21. 21

    Scottsdale AZ

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    242
    All openings
    772
    Openings with pay posted
    13%

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

    Based on 772 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Scottsdale

  22. 22

    Oklahoma City OK

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    182
    All openings
    581
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: Love's Travel Stops, CACI International, Northrop Grumman

    Based on 581 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oklahoma City

  23. 23

    Tulsa OK

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    156
    All openings
    498
    Openings with pay posted
    8%

    Hiring most here: BOK Financial, Aaon, Helmerich & Payne

    Based on 498 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tulsa

  24. 24

    El Paso TX

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    99
    All openings
    319
    Openings with pay posted
    10%

    Hiring most here: Confidential, Tenet Healthcare, Faith Technologies

    Based on 319 openings.

    Jobs and employers in El Paso

  25. 25

    Reno NV

    31%

    Entry-level openings
    95
    All openings
    311
    Openings with pay posted
    18%

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 311 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1Lubbock TX43%131
2Albuquerque NM39%364
3Corpus Christi TX38%128
4Coppell TX37%158
5Amarillo TX37%133
6Midland TX36%160
7Lewisville TX36%138
8Carrollton TX36%137
9Sugar Land TX35%113
10Arlington TX35%206
11San Antonio TX35%1,352
12Sparks NV34%122
13Tyler TX34%133
14Waco TX33%160
15Frisco TX33%207
16Tempe AZ33%688
17Chandler AZ32%473
18Gilbert AZ32%125
19Brownsville TX32%110
20Las Vegas NV31%980
21Scottsdale AZ31%772
22Oklahoma City OK31%581
23Tulsa OK31%498
24El Paso TX31%319
25Reno NV31%311
26Fort Worth TX30%1,339
27Grand Prairie TX30%204
28Phoenix AZ29%2,922
29Plano TX28%1,109
30Denton TX28%181
31Katy TX27%114
32Houston TX27%4,621
33Mesa AZ27%201
34Addison TX27%215
35Tucson AZ26%732
36The Woodlands TX26%176
37Austin TX25%6,257
38Dallas TX25%4,778
39Irving TX24%948
40Abilene TX22%139
41Richardson TX22%433
42Spring TX21%338
43Westlake TX15%111
44Greenville TX8%100

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text.

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

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 junior jobs in the southwest?
Lubbock leads the Southwest for junior jobs: 43% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 29% 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 tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. Internships are left out. 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 junior jobs in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-junior-jobs-in-the-southwest

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

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

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