NextChapter

Cities that post pay most often

Somerville leads the United States for pay transparency: 66% of its professional openings state a salary, against 22% across all cities in our data.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from open jobs we verified on employer career sites.

Key facts

  • #1 Somerville, MA: 66%
  • #2 San Mateo, CA: 65%
  • #3 Long Beach, CA: 53%
  • 100 cities ranked in the United States
  • Data as of November 2026

For comparison: 22% across all cities in our data.

  1. 1Somerville MA66%
  2. 2San Mateo CA65%
  3. 3Long Beach CA53%
  4. 4San Francisco CA52%
  5. 5Mountain View CA50%
  6. 6Alameda CA47%
  7. 7San Carlos CA45%
  8. 8Santa Ana CA44%
  9. 9Redwood City CA44%
  10. 10Torrance CA43%

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Somerville leads on 66%, and #10 Torrance is at 43%.
  • San Carlos reaches #7 on a sample of 211 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 12,335 openings behind its figure.
  • Cities with fewer than 200 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

Many postings still leave pay off. The share of openings that post a salary range shows where employers are most open about it, which makes negotiating easier.

How to use it

In the places at the top you can usually see the range before you apply. In places at the bottom, ask for the range early in the process.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Somerville MA

    66%

    Openings with pay posted
    235
    All openings
    354
    Median posted pay
    $164k

    Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines

    Based on 354 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Somerville

  2. 2

    San Mateo CA

    65%

    Openings with pay posted
    623
    All openings
    960
    Median posted pay
    $232k

    Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio

    Based on 960 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Mateo

  3. 3

    Long Beach CA

    53%

    Openings with pay posted
    461
    All openings
    876
    Median posted pay
    $155k

    Hiring most here: Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, Vast

    Based on 876 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Long Beach

  4. 4

    San Francisco CA

    52%

    Openings with pay posted
    6,390
    All openings
    12,335
    Median posted pay
    $215k

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

    Based on 12,335 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Francisco

  5. 5

    Mountain View CA

    50%

    Openings with pay posted
    824
    All openings
    1,637
    Median posted pay
    $213k

    Hiring most here: Intuit, Google, Waymo

    Based on 1,637 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Mountain View

  6. 6

    Alameda CA

    47%

    Openings with pay posted
    101
    All openings
    215
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Saildrone, Abbott, Penumbra

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Alameda

  7. 7

    San Carlos CA

    45%

    Openings with pay posted
    96
    All openings
    211
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: 1X Technologies, Joby Aviation, Natera

    Based on 211 openings.

    Jobs and employers in San Carlos

  8. 8

    Santa Ana CA

    44%

    Openings with pay posted
    122
    All openings
    277
    Median posted pay
    $170k

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, First American Financial, Anduril

    Based on 277 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Santa Ana

  9. 9

    Redwood City CA

    44%

    Openings with pay posted
    225
    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

  10. 10

    Torrance CA

    43%

    Openings with pay posted
    324
    All openings
    745
    Median posted pay
    $165k

    Hiring most here: Divergent Technologies, Valar Atomics, Neros

    Based on 745 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Torrance

  11. 11

    Berkeley CA

    43%

    Openings with pay posted
    106
    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

  12. 12

    Westminster CO

    42%

    Openings with pay posted
    111
    All openings
    264
    Median posted pay
    $147k

    Hiring most here: CesiumAstro, BAE Systems, Loenbro

    Based on 264 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Westminster

  13. 13

    Addison TX

    42%

    Openings with pay posted
    90
    All openings
    215
    Median posted pay
    $150k

    Hiring most here: National Life Group, National Life Insurance Company, Bank of America

    Based on 215 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Addison

  14. 14

    Santa Clara CA

    39%

    Openings with pay posted
    657
    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

  15. 15

    Foster City CA

    39%

    Openings with pay posted
    201
    All openings
    517
    Median posted pay
    $232k

    Hiring most here: Gilead Sciences, Zoox, Replit

    Based on 517 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Foster City

  16. 16

    El Segundo CA

    38%

    Openings with pay posted
    362
    All openings
    959
    Median posted pay
    $160k

    Hiring most here: Chaos Industries, Radiant, Varda Space Industries

    Based on 959 openings.

    Jobs and employers in El Segundo

  17. 17

    St. Paul MN

    38%

    Openings with pay posted
    87
    All openings
    232
    Median posted pay
    $121k

    Hiring most here: George Konik Associates, Thomson Reuters, Mortenson

    Based on 232 openings.

    Jobs and employers in St. Paul

  18. 18

    Ann Arbor MI

    37%

    Openings with pay posted
    133
    All openings
    362
    Median posted pay
    $153k

    Hiring most here: May Mobility, Torc Robotics, Thomson Reuters

    Based on 362 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Ann Arbor

  19. 19

    New York NY

    36%

    Openings with pay posted
    8,031
    All openings
    22,145
    Median posted pay
    $169k

    Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley

    Based on 22,145 openings.

    Jobs and employers in New York

  20. 20

    Washington DC

    36%

    Openings with pay posted
    1,701
    All openings
    4,748
    Median posted pay
    $163k

    Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Confidential, Shield AI

    Based on 4,748 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Washington

  21. 21

    Milpitas CA

    34%

    Openings with pay posted
    92
    All openings
    271
    Median posted pay
    $165k

    Hiring most here: Cisco Systems, Psiquantum, KLA

    Based on 271 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Milpitas

  22. 22

    Waltham MA

    34%

    Openings with pay posted
    214
    All openings
    634
    Median posted pay
    $193k

    Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry

    Based on 634 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Waltham

  23. 23

    Springfield IL

    32%

    Openings with pay posted
    104
    All openings
    323
    Median posted pay
    $125k

    Hiring most here: State of Illinois, Army National Guard Units, Hshs Medical Group

    Based on 323 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Springfield

  24. 24

    Menlo Park CA

    32%

    Openings with pay posted
    142
    All openings
    449
    Median posted pay
    $195k

    Hiring most here: Snowflake, Hippocratic AI, Exponent

    Based on 449 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Menlo Park

  25. 25

    Boulder CO

    31%

    Openings with pay posted
    143
    All openings
    454
    Median posted pay
    $149k

    Hiring most here: BAE Systems, Scitec Innovations, Atom Computing

    Based on 454 openings.

    Jobs and employers in Boulder

Full ranking

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

RankCityScoreSample
1Somerville MA66%354
2San Mateo CA65%960
3Long Beach CA53%876
4San Francisco CA52%12,335
5Mountain View CA50%1,637
6Alameda CA47%215
7San Carlos CA45%211
8Santa Ana CA44%277
9Redwood City CA44%514
10Torrance CA43%745
11Berkeley CA43%249
12Westminster CO42%264
13Addison TX42%215
14Santa Clara CA39%1,689
15Foster City CA39%517
16El Segundo CA38%959
17St. Paul MN38%232
18Ann Arbor MI37%362
19New York NY36%22,145
20Washington DC36%4,748
21Milpitas CA34%271
22Waltham MA34%634
23Springfield IL32%323
24Menlo Park CA32%449
25Boulder CO31%454
26Mundelein IL31%255
27Irvine CA31%1,587
28Los Angeles CA31%5,439
29Palo Alto CA31%1,263
30Fort Meade MD31%275
31Sunnyvale CA30%1,655
32Boston MA30%5,338
33Schaumburg IL30%242
34Princeton NJ30%439
35Mc Lean VA29%242
36Lexington MA29%253
37Burlington MA29%227
38Fremont CA28%510
39Denver CO28%2,996
40United PA28%234
41Sacramento CA27%1,431
42Cambridge MA27%1,204
43Chicago IL27%8,033
44Parsippany NJ26%274
45Buffalo NY26%461
46Rockville MD26%383
47Annapolis MD26%391
48White Plains NY26%229
49Arlington VA26%2,079
50Alexandria VA26%618
51Manassas VA25%236
52Brooklyn NY25%693
53Newark NJ25%455
54Albany NY25%397
55Louisville KY24%2,319
56Oakland CA24%609
57Santa Monica CA24%327
58Bethesda MD23%470
59McLean VA23%1,182
60Minneapolis MN23%1,313
61Reston VA23%828
62Eden Prairie MN23%363
63San Diego CA22%3,240
64Harrisburg PA22%300
65San Jose CA22%2,552
66Broomfield CO21%294
67Bedford MA21%201
68St. Louis MO21%596
69Virginia Beach VA21%275
70Seattle WA21%5,635
71Newport Beach CA21%310
72Bellevue WA21%1,455
73Norfolk VA21%342
74Herndon VA21%849
75Anchorage AK21%209
76Culver City CA20%252
77Springfield VA20%277
78Richmond VA20%1,209
79Alpharetta GA19%614
80Salt Lake City UT19%1,102
81Aurora CO19%347
82Austin TX19%6,257
83Englewood CO19%266
84Cleveland OH19%917
85Stamford CT19%336
86Ashburn VA19%259
87Gaithersburg MD18%213
88Boise ID18%391
89Philadelphia PA18%1,960
90Reno NV18%311
91Augusta GA17%208
92Hartford CT17%366
93Honolulu HI17%401
94Lexington KY17%230
95Frisco TX17%207
96Columbia MD17%280
97Syracuse NY16%419
98Raleigh NC16%1,515
99Baltimore MD16%1,158
100Colorado Springs CO16%712

How this ranking works

A city's score is the share of its open professional roles whose posting states an annual salary range.

Pay laws in some states require a posted range, which lifts the figure there. The list shows how often pay is posted, not how high it is.

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 200 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: cities that post pay most often?
Somerville leads the United States for pay transparency: 66% of its professional openings state a salary, against 22% across all cities in our data.
How many cities are ranked?
100 cities have at least 200 openings, so the list has 100 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A city's score is the share of its open professional roles whose posting states an annual salary range. Pay laws in some states require a posted range, which lifts the figure there. The list shows how often pay is posted, not how high it is. 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, “Cities that post pay most often,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/cities-that-post-pay-most-often

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/cities-that-post-pay-most-often">Cities that post pay most often (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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