Best Cities for Airfield Operations Specialistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where airfield operations specialistss 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	KentuckyState	2.45	$123,290	$139,311	9%
2	AlabamaState	1.59	$78,590	$90,230	15%
3	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.43	$78,920	$81,529	25%
4	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.39	$81,950	$79,179	23%
5	WashingtonState	1.38	$84,050	$78,332	27%
6	ArizonaState	1.35	$77,570	$76,878	23%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.34	$69,560	$76,272	21%
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.33	$81,350	$75,464	26%
9	New MexicoState	1.32	$69,090	$75,098	18%
10	ColoradoState	1.29	$77,500	$73,529	29%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.29	$84,050	$73,535	31%
12	OregonState	1.28	$75,130	$72,942	25%
13	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.27	$86,880	$72,280	43%
14	GeorgiaState	1.26	$66,790	$71,510	25%
15	VirginiaState	1.23	$72,250	$69,807	26%
16	AlaskaState	1.21	$71,510	$68,562	23%
17	MichiganState	1.18	$61,780	$66,934	22%
18	IdahoState	1.14	$62,510	$64,777	23%
19	Columbus, OHMetro	1.14	$60,830	$65,059	26%
20	TexasState	1.12	$60,910	$63,713	27%
21	OhioState	1.11	$57,140	$63,208	22%
22	NevadaState	1.08	$61,350	$61,228	28%
23	UtahState	1.05	$59,780	$59,661	30%
24	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.03	$54,090	$58,476	26%
25	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$55,660	$57,381	28%
26	FloridaState	1.00	$57,650	$56,798	36%
27	CaliforniaState	0.99	$62,600	$56,549	43%
28	OklahomaState	0.98	$49,200	$55,593	24%
29	IowaState	0.96	$48,870	$54,787	23%
30	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$58,630	$54,037	42%
31	MississippiState	0.92	$44,290	$52,229	24%
32	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.92	$48,590	$52,360	32%
33	MassachusettsState	0.91	$56,020	$51,631	48%
34	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.91	$47,490	$51,620	33%
35	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.87	$56,020	$49,357	55%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.87	$57,330	$49,210	47%
37	North CarolinaState	0.85	$45,820	$48,538	34%
38	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.85	$46,060	$48,079	39%
39	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.85	$47,440	$48,162	44%
40	MissouriState	0.80	$40,360	$45,553	31%
41	TennesseeState	0.77	$40,180	$43,913	38%
42	WisconsinState	0.75	$39,400	$42,687	33%
43	IndianaState	0.73	$37,730	$41,691	34%
44	South DakotaState	0.73	$37,860	$41,696	30%
45	North DakotaState	0.71	$37,550	$40,551	31%
46	New JerseyState	0.69	$42,480	$39,044	51%
47	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.69	$43,930	$38,945	55%
48	New YorkState	0.66	$42,000	$37,333	53%
49	South CarolinaState	0.64	$33,590	$36,511	45%
50	MontanaState	0.62	$33,990	$35,259	40%
51	West VirginiaState	0.60	$28,670	$34,050	35%

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