Best Cities for Aerospace Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where aerospace engineerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	MinnesotaState	1.20	$159,060	$162,306	10%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$159,950	$160,754	11%
3	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.17	$166,980	$157,826	12%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.15	$150,220	$155,186	13%
5	LouisianaState	1.13	$136,970	$152,020	9%
6	OhioState	1.13	$138,440	$153,142	9%
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.12	$181,630	$151,106	21%
8	GeorgiaState	1.11	$140,460	$150,385	12%
9	ColoradoState	1.10	$156,190	$148,188	14%
10	NebraskaState	1.10	$135,670	$148,273	9%
11	South CarolinaState	1.10	$137,030	$148,946	11%
12	MissouriState	1.09	$130,680	$147,494	10%
13	WashingtonState	1.09	$158,370	$147,596	14%
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.09	$166,420	$147,535	14%
15	AlabamaState	1.08	$127,540	$146,429	9%
16	KansasState	1.07	$130,330	$144,811	10%
17	New MexicoState	1.07	$132,850	$144,402	9%
18	CaliforniaState	1.06	$157,620	$142,385	17%
19	KentuckyState	1.06	$126,130	$142,520	9%
20	MarylandState	1.06	$156,750	$143,544	13%
21	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$163,580	$143,115	16%
22	OklahomaState	1.05	$125,470	$141,774	9%
23	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.05	$128,960	$141,404	11%
24	MichiganState	1.04	$128,960	$139,718	10%
25	TennesseeState	1.04	$128,510	$140,448	12%
26	VermontState	1.04	$144,400	$140,878	12%
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.04	$163,280	$140,155	17%
28	VirginiaState	1.03	$143,210	$138,367	13%
29	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$132,830	$138,653	14%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$134,570	$138,447	14%
31	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$133,810	$139,096	14%
32	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$128,390	$138,800	11%
33	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$128,400	$139,565	12%
34	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$157,600	$137,883	16%
35	MassachusettsState	1.02	$149,470	$137,760	18%
36	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$133,940	$138,082	12%
37	TexasState	1.01	$130,270	$136,266	13%
38	UtahState	1.00	$135,840	$135,569	13%
39	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$125,500	$134,225	12%
40	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$149,470	$131,692	21%
41	North CarolinaState	0.96	$122,930	$130,222	13%
42	MississippiState	0.95	$109,200	$128,774	10%
43	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$138,670	$128,636	16%
44	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$126,500	$128,426	16%
45	FloridaState	0.94	$129,280	$127,369	16%
46	HawaiiState	0.92	$137,240	$124,764	21%
47	ArizonaState	0.90	$123,170	$122,071	15%
48	OregonState	0.90	$124,630	$121,000	15%
49	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$131,210	$120,931	19%
50	ConnecticutState	0.89	$129,500	$120,353	15%
51	ArkansasState	0.88	$102,040	$118,239	10%
52	IndianaState	0.88	$107,400	$118,674	12%
53	New JerseyState	0.86	$126,430	$116,204	17%
54	New YorkState	0.86	$130,330	$115,849	17%
55	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.84	$105,730	$113,933	15%
56	IllinoisState	0.83	$108,940	$111,848	14%
57	IdahoState	0.73	$95,700	$99,171	15%
58	AlaskaState	0.72	$101,710	$97,517	16%
59	NevadaState	0.72	$96,730	$96,537	18%
60	WisconsinState	0.71	$88,400	$95,775	15%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).