Whilst demand for web design services remains high, AI adoption and tightening budgets are reshaping the industry and attracting talent to new locations. This has resulted in some hubs becoming oversaturated whilst others are underserved.
In our 2026 web designer survey, 78% of designers said they would relocate for the right opportunity, reinforcing how location still shapes access to roles.
To identify where opportunities are strongest and competition is highest, we analysed LinkedIn data across the 100 largest U.S. cities, comparing web designer roles per 10,000 residents, and uncovering the best and worst places to find work.
Top U.S. cities for web design job availability
Larger city populations didn’t necessarily translate into a broader range of job opportunities, as our research demonstrates.
Overall, mid-sized cities outperform larger cities for web design jobs per capita, suggesting less competition and better chances of securing roles in secondary and emerging hubs rather than headline tech cities.
| Rank | City | Population | Web Designer Jobs | Jobs Per 10k Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jersey City, NJ | 312,042 | 149 | 4.77 |
| 2 | Fremont, CA | 227,065 | 102 | 4.49 |
| 3 | Newark, NJ | 333,459 | 148 | 4.44 |
| 4 | Chula Vista, CA | 279,915 | 108 | 3.86 |
| 5 | Norfolk, VA | 227,751 | 87 | 3.82 |
| 6 | Frisco, TX | 251,430 | 94 | 3.74 |
| 7 | Garland, TX | 252,450 | 94 | 3.72 |
| 8 | Richmond, VA | 237,021 | 88 | 3.71 |
| 9 | Irving, TX | 258,636 | 95 | 3.67 |
| 10 | Anaheim, CA | 343,509 | 125 | 3.64 |
| 11 | Spokane, WA | 231,311 | 84 | 3.63 |
| 12 | Boise, ID | 238,923 | 85 | 3.56 |
| 13 | Huntsville, AL | 237,413 | 84 | 3.54 |
| 14 | Scottsdale, AZ | 248,321 | 87 | 3.50 |
| 15 | St. Petersburg, FL | 271,017 | 93 | 3.43 |
| 16 | Santa Ana, CA | 318,663 | 108 | 3.39 |
| 17 | Irvine, CA | 316,833 | 107 | 3.38 |
| 18 | Chesapeake, VA | 257,632 | 87 | 3.38 |
| 19 | Glendale, AZ | 262,745 | 87 | 3.31 |
| 20 | Laredo, TX | 264,142 | 86 | 3.26 |
| 21 | Winston-Salem, NC | 259,038 | 84 | 3.24 |
| 22 | Plano, TX | 296,718 | 96 | 3.24 |
| 23 | St. Louis, MO | 269,385 | 87 | 3.23 |
| 24 | Toledo, OH | 263,314 | 85 | 3.23 |
| 25 | Buffalo, NY | 276,146 | 87 | 3.15 |
| 26 | Chandler, AZ | 283,132 | 88 | 3.11 |
| 27 | Lubbock, TX | 279,104 | 86 | 3.08 |
| 28 | Fort Wayne, IN | 277,607 | 85 | 3.06 |
| 29 | Long Beach, CA | 443,555 | 134 | 3.02 |
| 30 | Reno, NV | 290,076 | 87 | 3.00 |
| 31 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 284,448 | 85 | 2.99 |
| 32 | Gilbert, AZ | 298,470 | 88 | 2.95 |
| 33 | Anchorage, AK | 288,947 | 85 | 2.94 |
| 34 | Madison, WI | 290,508 | 85 | 2.93 |
| 35 | Durham, NC | 311,965 | 90 | 2.88 |
| 36 | Saint Paul, MN | 305,634 | 88 | 2.88 |
| 37 | Greensboro, NC | 302,296 | 86 | 2.84 |
| 38 | Oakland, CA | 444,839 | 126 | 2.83 |
| 39 | Riverside, CA | 327,868 | 92 | 2.81 |
| 40 | Pittsburgh, PA | 310,103 | 87 | 2.81 |
| 41 | North Las Vegas, NV | 310,464 | 86 | 2.77 |
| 42 | Stockton, CA | 326,977 | 90 | 2.75 |
| 43 | Cincinnati, OH | 317,570 | 87 | 2.74 |
| 44 | Corpus Christi, TX | 316,595 | 86 | 2.72 |
| 45 | Orlando, FL | 348,347 | 90 | 2.58 |
| 46 | Lincoln, NE | 305,010 | 77 | 2.52 |
| 47 | Lexington, KY | 332,841 | 84 | 2.52 |
| 48 | Honolulu, HI | 343,229 | 84 | 2.45 |
| 49 | New Orleans, LA | 352,364 | 84 | 2.38 |
| 50 | Arlington, TX | 408,318 | 96 | 2.35 |
New Jersey stands out at the top of the rankings, with Jersey City and Newark placing first and third for availability of web design jobs relative to population. Their proximity to New York’s digital economy likely boosts demand, while keeping local competition lower than in larger cities.
Fremont, near San Francisco Bay Area in California, ranks seconds, suggesting that Silicon Valley may be expanding.
California appears frequently throughout the top 50, underlining its strong presence in the tech sector. While the state offers a large volume of web design roles overall, competition is high, potentially due to offering the second highest average salary in the country.
Texas and California each placed three cities in the top 10, more than any other state. Several of these high-ranking cities are smaller or suburban, pointing to strong demand beyond traditional tech hubs. Texas also has the highest share of early career starters, potentially signaling an influx of emerging talent and a rapidly expanding design ecosystem.
Top 10 most competitive cities for web design jobs
While mid sized cities dominate for opportunity per capita, the inverse is often true at the other end of the spectrum. The largest, most established tech and creative hubs tend to concentrate talent at a much higher rate than available roles, creating significantly more competitive job markets.
| Rank | City | Population | Web Designer Jobs | Jobs Per 10k Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City, NY | 8,346,955 | 149 | 0.18 |
| 2 | Los Angeles, CA | 3,869,891 | 122 | 0.32 |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 2,709,364 | 97 | 0.36 |
| 4 | Houston, TX | 2,435,715 | 89 | 0.37 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | 1,703,449 | 88 | 0.52 |
| 6 | San Antonio, TX | 1,570,314 | 87 | 0.55 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | 1,560,480 | 90 | 0.58 |
| 8 | Dallas, TX | 1,337,417 | 96 | 0.72 |
| 9 | San Diego, CA | 1,414,266 | 108 | 0.76 |
| 10 | Jacksonville, FL | 1,038,787 | 87 | 0.84 |
New York City ranks as the most competitive market for web design jobs, with just 0.18 vacancies per 10,000 people. Despite offering the highest number of roles overall, the sheer size of the workforce significantly reduces availability per capita. Our web designer survey showed that digital workers in New York are also the second least likely to move city for better job opportunities, further intensifying competition and limiting the flow of new opportunities within the market.
Los Angeles follows, showing a similar pattern of high demand paired with intense competition. As with other major creative hubs, the number of designers far outweighs the volume of open roles.
The data highlights how major U.S. cities often present the toughest job markets for web designers. While they may offer prestige and volume, competition is highest in the largest cities, making it harder to secure roles compared to smaller, faster-growing hubs.
For businesses, this reflects the same pressure seen in the job market: more competition for the same opportunities. As securing new clients becomes harder – much like landing roles in saturated cities – diversifying income is key to growth. Solutions like reseller hosting, backed by a reliable managed service provider, help agencies build recurring revenue and reduce reliance on constantly winning new projects.
Methodology
Our researchers used LinkedIn job search to find the number of available ‘web design’ job roles within 40 km of each of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. This data was compared to the population of each city to find the number of jobs available per 10,000 of the population. 2026 population data taken from World Population Review. Remote roles were excluded to focus on local job markets.
Data correct as of February 2026.
