Best Cities for Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblerss 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	WashingtonState	1.57	$110,470	$102,954	21%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.48	$110,470	$96,649	24%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.36	$86,520	$89,012	22%
4	PennsylvaniaState	1.29	$81,680	$84,206	19%
5	TexasState	1.23	$76,640	$80,167	22%
6	GeorgiaState	1.19	$72,550	$77,677	23%
7	ArizonaState	1.12	$73,930	$73,271	24%
8	ConnecticutState	1.12	$78,630	$73,076	24%
9	TennesseeState	1.11	$66,390	$72,557	23%
10	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.10	$77,920	$71,816	31%
11	NebraskaState	1.08	$64,530	$70,525	19%
12	AlabamaState	1.04	$58,990	$67,727	19%
13	ColoradoState	1.03	$70,870	$67,239	31%
14	KansasState	1.02	$59,850	$66,500	21%
15	MissouriState	1.01	$58,600	$66,140	21%
16	FloridaState	0.97	$64,580	$63,626	32%
17	CaliforniaState	0.88	$63,640	$57,489	43%
18	OregonState	0.86	$58,050	$56,359	33%
19	OklahomaState	0.85	$49,070	$55,446	24%
20	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.85	$65,000	$55,794	42%
21	North CarolinaState	0.84	$51,930	$55,011	30%
22	ArkansasState	0.82	$46,290	$53,638	23%
23	IdahoState	0.79	$50,100	$51,917	29%
24	MichiganState	0.78	$47,230	$51,170	28%
25	UtahState	0.78	$51,130	$51,028	35%
26	New YorkState	0.67	$49,620	$44,107	45%

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