Best Cities for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where airline pilots, copilots, and flight 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	GeorgiaState	2.85	$618,090	$661,767	3%
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	2.75	$618,090	$638,523	3%
3	IdahoState	2.27	$507,640	$526,052	3%
4	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	2.02	$428,570	$469,923	3%
5	MichiganState	2.00	$428,570	$464,323	3%
6	KentuckyState	1.71	$350,950	$396,554	3%
7	CaliforniaState	1.38	$353,900	$319,693	8%
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.35	$364,730	$313,073	7%
9	IllinoisState	1.30	$293,490	$301,324	5%
10	ColoradoState	1.26	$307,490	$291,736	7%
11	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$343,140	$285,474	11%
12	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.00	$229,490	$232,985	9%
13	New YorkState	0.98	$255,240	$226,880	9%
14	ArizonaState	0.97	$227,870	$225,837	8%
15	OhioState	0.97	$204,170	$225,852	6%
16	TexasState	0.97	$215,150	$225,052	8%
17	AlaskaState	0.96	$232,140	$222,570	7%
18	FloridaState	0.96	$225,020	$221,695	9%
19	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$212,810	$218,940	9%
20	MinnesotaState	0.93	$211,470	$215,786	7%
21	WashingtonState	0.92	$229,900	$214,259	10%
22	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.92	$211,470	$212,533	8%
23	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.87	$229,900	$201,137	11%
24	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.86	$216,070	$199,143	11%
25	ArkansasState	0.84	$168,970	$195,794	6%
26	NevadaState	0.83	$192,460	$192,076	9%
27	IndianaState	0.82	$171,260	$189,238	7%
28	ConnecticutState	0.80	$199,870	$185,753	9%
29	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.80	$209,750	$185,949	11%
30	UtahState	0.75	$174,590	$174,242	10%
31	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.75	$180,330	$174,232	11%
32	MississippiState	0.73	$143,580	$169,316	7%
33	PennsylvaniaState	0.73	$164,990	$170,093	9%
34	OregonState	0.72	$173,190	$168,146	11%
35	Rhode IslandState	0.71	$164,880	$164,060	11%
36	KansasState	0.69	$143,580	$159,533	9%
37	North CarolinaState	0.69	$151,540	$160,530	10%
38	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.69	$173,190	$160,659	12%
39	AlabamaState	0.68	$136,990	$157,279	8%
40	TennesseeState	0.68	$143,580	$156,918	10%
41	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.68	$151,540	$158,184	12%
42	South CarolinaState	0.67	$143,580	$156,065	10%
43	OklahomaState	0.65	$133,680	$151,051	9%
44	IowaState	0.64	$131,730	$147,679	9%
45	MaineState	0.64	$147,930	$148,226	11%
46	New MexicoState	0.64	$136,990	$148,902	9%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.64	$143,580	$149,252	13%
48	NebraskaState	0.62	$131,650	$143,880	10%
49	LouisianaState	0.58	$120,740	$134,007	10%
50	MissouriState	0.47	$97,680	$110,248	13%
51	New HampshireState	0.40	$99,280	$93,660	19%

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