NextChapter

Best cities for operations jobs

New York has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 1,429 openings.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 New York, NY: 1,429 openings
  • #2 Chicago, IL: 667 openings
  • #3 Houston, TX: 624 openings
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1New York NY1,429 openings
  2. 2Chicago IL667 openings
  3. 3Houston TX624 openings
  4. 4San Francisco CA622 openings
  5. 5Austin TX607 openings
  6. 6Atlanta GA533 openings
  7. 7Dallas TX515 openings
  8. 8Los Angeles CA482 openings
  9. 9Phoenix AZ413 openings
  10. 10Charlotte NC407 openings

What stands out

  • The lead is wide: New York (1,429 openings) is well clear of Charlotte at #10 (407 openings).
  • New York is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,429 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 50 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

The cities with the most openings in one job family show where that kind of work is concentrated. It counts the open professional roles on employer career sites that we verified in the last week.

How to use it

Pick your job family, look at the top cities and their employers, then open the family page for titles and pay.

The top 25

  1. 1

    New York NY

    1,429 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $135k
    All openings in the city
    20,589

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 1,429 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  2. 2

    Chicago IL

    667 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    9%
    Median posted pay
    $128k
    All openings in the city
    7,607

    Hiring most here: Publicis Groupe, Northern Trust, Confidential

    Based on 667 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Chicago

  3. 3

    Houston TX

    624 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    14%
    Median posted pay
    $133k
    All openings in the city
    4,330

    Hiring most here: Axiom Space, Trinzic, Fervo Energy

    Based on 624 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Houston

  4. 4

    San Francisco CA

    622 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    5%
    Median posted pay
    $167k
    All openings in the city
    11,798

    Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation

    Based on 622 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  5. 5

    Austin TX

    607 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $156k
    All openings in the city
    5,903

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare

    Based on 607 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Austin

  6. 6

    Atlanta GA

    533 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $127k
    All openings in the city
    5,566

    Hiring most here: Emory University, Oxford College of Emory University, Capgemini Invent

    Based on 533 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Atlanta

  7. 7

    Dallas TX

    515 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    12%
    Median posted pay
    $137k
    All openings in the city
    4,429

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Shield AI, Texas Instruments

    Based on 515 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Dallas

  8. 8

    Los Angeles CA

    482 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    9%
    Median posted pay
    $139k
    All openings in the city
    5,126

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

    Based on 482 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Los Angeles

  9. 9

    Phoenix AZ

    413 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    15%
    Median posted pay
    $134k
    All openings in the city
    2,749

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

    Based on 413 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Phoenix

  10. 10

    Charlotte NC

    407 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    13%
    Median posted pay
    $115k
    All openings in the city
    3,198

    Hiring most here: Truist Financial, Scout Motors, SMBC Americas

    Based on 407 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Charlotte

  11. 11

    Boston MA

    390 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    8%
    Median posted pay
    $140k
    All openings in the city
    5,143

    Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential

    Based on 390 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boston

  12. 12

    Louisville KY

    367 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    18%
    Median posted pay
    $85k
    All openings in the city
    2,065

    Hiring most here: BrightSpring Health Services, Norton Healthcare, GE Appliances

    Based on 367 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Louisville

  13. 13

    Seattle WA

    340 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    6%
    Median posted pay
    $139k
    All openings in the city
    5,343

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI

    Based on 340 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Seattle

  14. 14

    Washington DC

    333 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    7%
    Median posted pay
    $138k
    All openings in the city
    4,457

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, CACI International, Shield AI

    Based on 333 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Washington

  15. 15

    San Diego CA

    295 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $143k
    All openings in the city
    3,085

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

    Based on 295 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Diego

  16. 16

    Denver CO

    294 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $125k
    All openings in the city
    2,867

    Hiring most here: True Anomaly, Blue Origin, Amazon

    Based on 294 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Denver

  17. 17

    Miami FL

    265 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    11%
    Median posted pay
    $108k
    All openings in the city
    2,344

    Hiring most here: University Of Miami, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises / Holland America Line

    Based on 265 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Miami

  18. 18

    Columbus OH

    262 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    14%
    Median posted pay
    $116k
    All openings in the city
    1,892

    Hiring most here: State of Ohio, Nationwide, Ohio State University-Newark Campus

    Based on 262 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Columbus

  19. 19

    Nashville TN

    250 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    15%
    Median posted pay
    $131k
    All openings in the city
    1,650

    Hiring most here: Oracle, Amazon, Vanderbilt University

    Based on 250 openings.

  20. 20

    Fort Worth TX

    245 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    19%
    Median posted pay
    $101k
    All openings in the city
    1,267

    Hiring most here: Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, MP Materials

    Based on 245 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Fort Worth

  21. 21

    San Jose CA

    229 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    10%
    Median posted pay
    $165k
    All openings in the city
    2,379

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

    Based on 229 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Jose

  22. 22

    Philadelphia PA

    225 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    12%
    Median posted pay
    $115k
    All openings in the city
    1,820

    Hiring most here: Confidential, GSK, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

    Based on 225 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Philadelphia

  23. 23

    Indianapolis IN

    216 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    15%
    Median posted pay
    $140k
    All openings in the city
    1,422

    Hiring most here: Eli Lilly and Company, State of Indiana, Masco

    Based on 216 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Indianapolis

  24. 24

    Bellevue WA

    196 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    14%
    Median posted pay
    $165k
    All openings in the city
    1,396

    Hiring most here: Amazon, TerraPower, Okta

    Based on 196 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Bellevue

  25. 25

    Tampa FL

    194 openings

    Share of the city's openings
    11%
    Median posted pay
    $81k
    All openings in the city
    1,738

    Hiring most here: DTCC, University of South Florida, Tampa Electric

    Based on 194 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Tampa

Full ranking

All 100 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCityScoreSample
1New York NY1,429 openings1,429
2Chicago IL667 openings667
3Houston TX624 openings624
4San Francisco CA622 openings622
5Austin TX607 openings607
6Atlanta GA533 openings533
7Dallas TX515 openings515
8Los Angeles CA482 openings482
9Phoenix AZ413 openings413
10Charlotte NC407 openings407
11Boston MA390 openings390
12Louisville KY367 openings367
13Seattle WA340 openings340
14Washington DC333 openings333
15San Diego CA295 openings295
16Denver CO294 openings294
17Miami FL265 openings265
18Columbus OH262 openings262
19Nashville TN250 openings250
20Fort Worth TX245 openings245
21San Jose CA229 openings229
22Philadelphia PA225 openings225
23Indianapolis IN216 openings216
24Bellevue WA196 openings196
25Tampa FL194 openings194
26Jacksonville FL186 openings186
27Sacramento CA185 openings185
28San Antonio TX179 openings179
29Cincinnati OH174 openings174
30Pittsburgh PA174 openings174
31Raleigh NC172 openings172
32Orlando FL165 openings165
33Minneapolis MN162 openings162
34Baltimore MD153 openings153
35Richmond VA151 openings151
36Milwaukee WI142 openings142
37Arlington VA140 openings140
38Las Vegas NV139 openings139
39Cleveland OH129 openings129
40Tempe AZ129 openings129
41Memphis TN128 openings128
42Tallahassee FL126 openings126
43Plano TX123 openings123
44Irvine CA119 openings119
45Portland OR115 openings115
46Irving TX99 openings99
47Omaha NE99 openings99
48Santa Clara CA99 openings99
49Detroit MI96 openings96
50Durham NC92 openings92
51Huntsville AL88 openings88
52Tulsa OK88 openings88
53Cambridge MA87 openings87
54Torrance CA86 openings86
55Sunnyvale CA84 openings84
56Brooklyn NY82 openings82
57Greensboro NC78 openings78
58Scottsdale AZ78 openings78
59Birmingham AL77 openings77
60El Segundo CA76 openings76
61Fremont CA76 openings76
62Long Beach CA76 openings76
63Fort Lauderdale FL75 openings75
64New York NY74 openings74
65Rochester NY71 openings71
66Madison WI70 openings70
67Alexandria VA69 openings69
68Colorado Springs CO69 openings69
69Redmond WA69 openings69
70El Paso TX68 openings68
71St. Louis MO68 openings68
72Grand Rapids MI67 openings67
73Greenville SC67 openings67
74Dayton OH66 openings66
75Mesa AZ64 openings64
76Buffalo NY63 openings63
77Honolulu HI63 openings63
78Knoxville TN62 openings62
79Aurora CO61 openings61
80Palo Alto CA61 openings61
81Reston VA61 openings61
82Newark NJ60 openings60
83Columbia SC59 openings59
84Wichita KS59 openings59
85Overland Park KS58 openings58
86Reno NV58 openings58
87St. Louis MO58 openings58
88Chandler AZ56 openings56
89Charlottesville VA55 openings55
90Mountain View CA55 openings55
91Tucson AZ55 openings55
92Virginia Beach VA54 openings54
93Akron OH53 openings53
94Manassas VA53 openings53
95Abilene TX52 openings52
96Oakbrook Terrace IL52 openings52
97Oakland CA52 openings52
98Waltham MA52 openings52
99Albany NY51 openings51
100McLean VA51 openings51

The jobs behind this ranking

Open operations jobs, who is hiring for them and what they pay.

Job titles link to their salary page where pay is posted, otherwise to the open jobs.

How this ranking works

A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles in this job family, as classed from the posting title and text. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do.

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 50 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 operations jobs?
New York has the most openings in this job family in the United States: 1,429 openings.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 50 openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles in this job family, as classed from the posting title and text. Median pay uses only listings that post a salary, shown where at least 8 do. 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 operations jobs,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-operations-jobs

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

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

The job market, once a week

One email every Tuesday with the week's most useful read on the job market and the search, plus occasional news from NextChapter. No account needed. Unsubscribe any time.

Applying and hearing nothing back?

Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.

Already a member? Log in

Get my Market Reality Assessment

Run a workforce board, job center or economic development office, or hire in the places and industries on this list?

Leave your work email. We'll send how organizations use NextChapter to reach job seekers.

See how organizations use it