{"h1":"Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Mountain West","faq":[{"a":"Denver has the most software and engineering openings in the Mountain West: 793 openings, in a market where engineering is 33% of openings across all cities in our data.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for software and engineering jobs in the mountain west?"},{"a":"22 cities have at least 30 engineering openings, so the list has 22 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles classed in the engineering function, which includes software, hardware and data engineering. Median engineering pay uses only listings that post a salary, and is shown only where at least 8 do. Cities need at least the minimum number of engineering openings to be ranked. 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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Denver has the most software and engineering openings in the Mountain West: 793 openings, in a market where engineering is 33% of openings across all cities in our data.","minN":30,"rows":[{"n":793,"bar":1,"key":"CO|denver","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/denver","name":"Denver","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"26%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$150k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"2,996"}],"value":793,"change":null,"employers":["True Anomaly","Blue Origin","Amazon"],"valueLabel":"793 openings"},{"n":366,"bar":0.4615384615384616,"key":"CO|colorado springs","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/colorado-springs","name":"Colorado Springs","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"51%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$125k"},{"label":"All 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openings"},{"n":207,"bar":0.2610340479192938,"key":"CO|littleton","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/littleton","name":"Littleton","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"70%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$159k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"295"}],"value":207,"change":null,"employers":["Lockheed Martin","Sikorsky Aircraft","Lockheed Martin Services"],"valueLabel":"207 openings"},{"n":137,"bar":0.1727616645649432,"key":"CO|aurora","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/aurora","name":"Aurora","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"39%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$142k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"347"}],"value":137,"change":null,"employers":["CACI International","Northrop Grumman","RTX"],"valueLabel":"137 openings"},{"n":137,"bar":0.1727616645649432,"key":"CO|westminster","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/westminster","name":"Westminster","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all 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Ventures"],"valueLabel":"131 openings"},{"n":124,"bar":0.1563682219419924,"key":"ID|boise","sub":"ID","href":null,"name":"Boise","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"32%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$129k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"391"}],"value":124,"change":null,"employers":["Simplot Company Foundation","Micron","Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories"],"valueLabel":"124 openings"},{"n":94,"bar":0.1185372005044136,"key":"CO|englewood","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/englewood","name":"Englewood","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"35%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$113k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"266"}],"value":94,"change":null,"employers":["General Atomics","Sargent & Lundy","Lockheed Martin"],"valueLabel":"94 openings"},{"n":77,"bar":0.09709962168978563,"key":"CO|louisville","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/louisville","name":"Louisville","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"55%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$141k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"139"}],"value":77,"change":null,"employers":["Infleqtion","Sierra Space","Garmin"],"valueLabel":"77 openings"},{"n":70,"bar":0.08827238335435057,"key":"NV|reno","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/city/reno","name":"Reno","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"23%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$138k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"311"}],"value":70,"change":null,"employers":["IGT","Amperesand","Caesars Entertainment"],"valueLabel":"70 openings"},{"n":64,"bar":0.0807061790668348,"key":"CO|fort collins","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/fort-collins","name":"Fort Collins","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"42%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$129k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"154"}],"value":64,"change":null,"employers":["Anduril Industries","Woodward","Advanced Energy"],"valueLabel":"64 openings"},{"n":62,"bar":0.07818411097099622,"key":"UT|lehi","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/lehi","name":"Lehi","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"23%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings","value":"273"}],"value":62,"change":null,"employers":["Podium","Pattern Group","Texas Instruments"],"valueLabel":"62 openings"},{"n":60,"bar":0.07566204287515763,"key":"CO|longmont","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/longmont","name":"Longmont","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"59%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"$113k"},{"label":"All openings","value":"101"}],"value":60,"change":null,"employers":["Sens Usa","Blue Origin","Ursa Major Technologies"],"valueLabel":"60 openings"},{"n":54,"bar":0.06809583858764187,"key":"CO|centennial","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/centennial","name":"Centennial","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all 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Orbital","McKinstry"],"valueLabel":"36 openings"},{"n":34,"bar":0.04287515762925599,"key":"CO|greenwood village","sub":"CO","href":null,"name":"Greenwood Village","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"20%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings","value":"168"}],"value":34,"change":null,"employers":["CoBank ACB","Black & Veatch","Charter Communications"],"valueLabel":"34 openings"},{"n":34,"bar":0.04287515762925599,"key":"CO|lone tree","sub":"CO","href":"/places/colorado/city/lone-tree","name":"Lone Tree","rank":21,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"57%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings","value":"60"}],"value":34,"change":null,"employers":["Weeks Marine","Kiewit Infrastructure South","Charles Schwab"],"valueLabel":"34 openings"},{"n":32,"bar":0.0403530895334174,"key":"UT|ogden","sub":"UT","href":"/places/utah/city/ogden","name":"Ogden","rank":22,"stats":[{"label":"Share of all openings","value":"38%"},{"label":"Median engineering pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"All openings","value":"85"}],"value":32,"change":null,"employers":["Dark Wolf Solutions","Bechtel Energy"],"valueLabel":"32 openings"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-software-engineering-jobs-in-the-mountain-west","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"mountain-west","kind":"region","name":"Mountain West"},"title":"Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Mountain West","family":"Work style","method":["A city is ranked on the number of its open professional roles classed in the engineering function, which includes software, hardware and data engineering.","Median engineering pay uses only listings that post a salary, and is shown only where at least 8 do. Cities need at least the minimum number of engineering openings to be ranked.","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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"swe","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":{"label":"all cities in our data","valueLabel":"33%"},"keyFacts":["#1 Denver, CO: 793 openings","#2 Colorado Springs, CO: 366 openings","#3 Salt Lake City, UT: 289 openings","22 cities ranked in the Mountain West","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The lead is wide: Denver (793 openings) is well clear of Boise at #10 (124 openings).","Denver is the largest market in the top ten, with 793 engineering openings behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 30 engineering openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-software-engineering-jobs-in-the-mountain-west"}