NextChapter

Best cities for mid-career professionals in the Southwest

Greenville leads the Southwest for mid-career professionals: 71% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 52% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Greenville, TX: 71%
  • #2 Katy, TX: 61%
  • #3 Brownsville, TX: 61%
  • 44 cities ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 52% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Greenville TX71%
  2. 2Katy TX61%
  3. 3Brownsville TX61%
  4. 4Spring TX59%
  5. 5Gilbert AZ58%
  6. 6Grand Prairie TX58%
  7. 7The Woodlands TX57%
  8. 8Sparks NV56%
  9. 9Mesa AZ55%
  10. 10Houston TX54%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Greenville leads on 71%, and #10 Houston is at 54%.
  • Houston is the largest market in the top ten, with 4,621 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

Mid-career roles (mid-level, senior and manager) are spread differently from entry-level roles. This list shows where employers are hiring people with several years of experience.

How to use it

If you have five or more years behind you, start with the places at the top, then narrow by job family on the cities and employers pages.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Greenville TX

    71%

    Mid-career openings
    71
    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

  2. 2

    Katy TX

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    70
    All openings
    114
    Median posted pay
    $110k

    Hiring most here: Academy Of Excellence, Memorial Hermann Health System, PCL Construction

    Based on 114 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Katy

  3. 3

    Brownsville TX

    61%

    Mid-career openings
    67
    All openings
    110
    Median posted pay
    $128k

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

    Based on 110 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Brownsville

  4. 4

    Spring TX

    59%

    Mid-career openings
    198
    All openings
    338
    Median posted pay
    $204k

    Hiring most here: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP, Juniper Networks

    Based on 338 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Spring

  5. 5

    Gilbert AZ

    58%

    Mid-career openings
    73
    All openings
    125
    Median posted pay
    $127k

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Loenbro, Deloitte

    Based on 125 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Gilbert

  6. 6

    Grand Prairie TX

    58%

    Mid-career openings
    118
    All openings
    204
    Median posted pay
    $101k

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, Lockheed Martin Services

    Based on 204 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Grand Prairie

  7. 7

    The Woodlands TX

    57%

    Mid-career openings
    101
    All openings
    176
    Median posted pay
    $133k

    Hiring most here: Entergy, Crane, Waste Connections

    Based on 176 openings.

    Jobs and employers in The Woodlands

  8. 8

    Sparks NV

    56%

    Mid-career openings
    68
    All openings
    122
    Median posted pay
    $111k

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

    Based on 122 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Sparks

  9. 9

    Mesa AZ

    55%

    Mid-career openings
    110
    All openings
    201
    Median posted pay
    $125k

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

    Based on 201 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mesa

  10. 10

    Houston TX

    54%

    Mid-career openings
    2,517
    All openings
    4,621
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Fervo Energy, Trinzic

    Based on 4,621 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  11. 11

    Tulsa OK

    54%

    Mid-career openings
    270
    All openings
    498
    Median posted pay
    $94k

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

    Based on 498 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tulsa

  12. 12

    Midland TX

    54%

    Mid-career openings
    86
    All openings
    160
    Median posted pay
    $130k

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

    Based on 160 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Midland

  13. 13

    Austin TX

    54%

    Mid-career openings
    3,361
    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

  14. 14

    Irving TX

    54%

    Mid-career openings
    508
    All openings
    948
    Median posted pay
    $134k

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

    Based on 948 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Irving

  15. 15

    Oklahoma City OK

    53%

    Mid-career openings
    309
    All openings
    581
    Median posted pay
    $108k

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

    Based on 581 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Oklahoma City

  16. 16

    Westlake TX

    53%

    Mid-career openings
    59
    All openings
    111
    Median posted pay
    $139k

    Hiring most here: Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Kiewit

    Based on 111 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Westlake

  17. 17

    Phoenix AZ

    53%

    Mid-career openings
    1,539
    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

  18. 18

    Abilene TX

    53%

    Mid-career openings
    73
    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

  19. 19

    Tempe AZ

    52%

    Mid-career openings
    360
    All openings
    688
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: Carvana, Amazon, Viasat

    Based on 688 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tempe

  20. 20

    Reno NV

    52%

    Mid-career openings
    162
    All openings
    311
    Median posted pay
    $132k

    Hiring most here: IGT, Amperesand, Caesars Entertainment

    Based on 311 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Reno

  21. 21

    Chandler AZ

    52%

    Mid-career openings
    246
    All openings
    473
    Median posted pay
    $114k

    Hiring most here: Northrop Grumman, Bechtel Energy, Ralliant

    Based on 473 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chandler

  22. 22

    Dallas TX

    52%

    Mid-career openings
    2,467
    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

  23. 23

    Scottsdale AZ

    51%

    Mid-career openings
    394
    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

  24. 24

    Fort Worth TX

    51%

    Mid-career openings
    680
    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

  25. 25

    Carrollton TX

    50%

    Mid-career openings
    69
    All openings
    137
    Median posted pay
    $123k

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

    Based on 137 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Carrollton

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1Greenville TX71%100
2Katy TX61%114
3Brownsville TX61%110
4Spring TX59%338
5Gilbert AZ58%125
6Grand Prairie TX58%204
7The Woodlands TX57%176
8Sparks NV56%122
9Mesa AZ55%201
10Houston TX54%4,621
11Tulsa OK54%498
12Midland TX54%160
13Austin TX54%6,257
14Irving TX54%948
15Oklahoma City OK53%581
16Westlake TX53%111
17Phoenix AZ53%2,922
18Abilene TX53%139
19Tempe AZ52%688
20Reno NV52%311
21Chandler AZ52%473
22Dallas TX52%4,778
23Scottsdale AZ51%772
24Fort Worth TX51%1,339
25Carrollton TX50%137
26Richardson TX50%433
27Albuquerque NM50%364
28Plano TX50%1,109
29Arlington TX49%206
30Amarillo TX49%133
31Tyler TX49%133
32Lubbock TX49%131
33San Antonio TX48%1,352
34Las Vegas NV47%980
35Sugar Land TX47%113
36Lewisville TX45%138
37Denton TX45%181
38Tucson AZ44%732
39Frisco TX44%207
40Coppell TX44%158
41Addison TX42%215
42Corpus Christi TX41%128
43El Paso TX41%319
44Waco TX38%160

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles at mid-level, senior individual-contributor or manager level, 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 mid-career professionals in the southwest?
Greenville leads the Southwest for mid-career professionals: 71% of its professional openings are mid-level, senior or manager roles, against 52% 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 mid-level, senior individual-contributor or manager level, 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 mid-career professionals in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-mid-career-jobs-in-the-southwest

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

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

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