Best Cities for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicianss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where aircraft mechanics and service technicianss 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	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.27	$98,300	$101,550	20%
2	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.22	$94,920	$97,654	20%
3	New JerseyState	1.21	$105,370	$96,847	20%
4	NevadaState	1.19	$94,890	$94,701	18%
5	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.19	$100,940	$95,406	20%
6	AlabamaState	1.18	$82,260	$94,443	14%
7	MarylandState	1.15	$100,500	$92,033	20%
8	New MexicoState	1.15	$84,440	$91,783	15%
9	WashingtonState	1.15	$98,980	$92,246	23%
10	New YorkState	1.14	$102,800	$91,378	22%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.14	$103,900	$90,901	25%
12	ConnecticutState	1.13	$96,830	$89,991	19%
13	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.13	$90,050	$90,503	20%
14	KansasState	1.12	$80,270	$89,189	15%
15	OhioState	1.12	$80,570	$89,126	16%
16	LouisianaState	1.11	$79,780	$88,546	16%
17	MississippiState	1.11	$74,880	$88,302	14%
18	TennesseeState	1.11	$81,040	$88,568	19%
19	TexasState	1.11	$84,440	$88,326	20%
20	AlaskaState	1.09	$91,150	$87,392	18%
21	MassachusettsState	1.07	$93,040	$85,751	29%
22	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.06	$78,240	$85,043	20%
23	IllinoisState	1.05	$81,680	$83,860	19%
24	MinnesotaState	1.05	$81,980	$83,653	19%
25	North DakotaState	1.05	$77,740	$83,952	15%
26	OklahomaState	1.05	$74,390	$84,056	16%
27	DelawareState	1.04	$83,550	$82,723	19%
28	South DakotaState	1.04	$75,750	$83,425	15%
29	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$75,940	$83,268	19%
30	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$93,910	$83,254	26%
31	HawaiiState	1.03	$90,830	$82,573	32%
32	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.03	$93,280	$82,185	33%
33	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.03	$78,580	$82,025	23%
34	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.03	$98,760	$82,163	38%
35	MichiganState	1.02	$74,900	$81,148	18%
36	North CarolinaState	1.02	$76,980	$81,547	20%
37	South CarolinaState	1.02	$75,160	$81,696	20%
38	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$84,100	$81,256	23%
39	GeorgiaState	1.01	$75,640	$80,985	22%
40	MissouriState	1.01	$71,470	$80,666	17%
41	OregonState	1.01	$82,850	$80,437	23%
42	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$78,000	$80,412	20%
43	WisconsinState	1.00	$73,930	$80,098	18%
44	VirginiaState	0.99	$82,200	$79,420	23%
45	Columbus, OHMetro	0.99	$74,210	$79,369	21%
46	ColoradoState	0.98	$82,080	$77,875	27%
47	IowaState	0.98	$69,890	$78,352	16%
48	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$72,090	$77,935	20%
49	CaliforniaState	0.97	$86,100	$77,778	32%
50	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.97	$83,760	$77,699	26%
51	KentuckyState	0.96	$67,920	$76,746	17%
52	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.96	$71,080	$76,595	22%
53	ArkansasState	0.95	$65,420	$75,805	16%
54	FloridaState	0.95	$76,940	$75,803	27%
55	New HampshireState	0.94	$79,610	$75,104	24%
56	ArizonaState	0.93	$75,300	$74,628	24%
57	VermontState	0.93	$76,370	$74,507	22%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.91	$71,510	$72,599	29%
59	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$78,260	$72,129	31%
60	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.89	$83,250	$71,459	33%
61	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$68,080	$70,769	27%
62	IndianaState	0.88	$63,400	$70,055	20%
63	NebraskaState	0.88	$64,020	$69,967	20%
64	Rhode IslandState	0.88	$70,720	$70,368	26%
65	UtahState	0.88	$70,160	$70,020	26%
66	MaineState	0.85	$67,890	$68,026	23%
67	MontanaState	0.83	$64,170	$66,566	21%
68	IdahoState	0.79	$61,250	$63,472	23%
69	WyomingState	0.76	$56,680	$60,946	21%
70	West VirginiaState	0.68	$45,470	$54,002	22%

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