Best Cities for Commercial Pilotss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where commercial pilotss 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	ConnecticutState	1.75	$232,160	$215,762	8%
2	New JerseyState	1.69	$226,710	$208,373	10%
3	Columbus, OHMetro	1.52	$175,690	$187,904	9%
4	OhioState	1.35	$150,330	$166,294	8%
5	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.34	$160,160	$164,774	12%
6	DelawareState	1.31	$163,600	$161,980	10%
7	New YorkState	1.28	$177,430	$157,716	12%
8	GeorgiaState	1.26	$145,100	$155,353	12%
9	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.24	$158,670	$153,304	12%
10	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.23	$146,880	$151,736	13%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.23	$144,750	$151,096	12%
12	CaliforniaState	1.21	$165,590	$149,584	16%
13	KentuckyState	1.19	$129,990	$146,881	9%
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.19	$133,220	$146,075	11%
15	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$134,030	$144,897	11%
16	North DakotaState	1.17	$133,010	$143,639	9%
17	TexasState	1.17	$137,960	$144,310	12%
18	OklahomaState	1.16	$126,180	$142,576	9%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.15	$131,000	$141,164	12%
20	WisconsinState	1.14	$129,860	$140,693	10%
21	PennsylvaniaState	1.12	$134,030	$138,175	12%
22	MichiganState	1.11	$126,670	$137,237	11%
23	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.11	$131,590	$136,788	14%
24	North CarolinaState	1.09	$127,310	$134,862	12%
25	VermontState	1.09	$137,810	$134,449	12%
26	ColoradoState	1.08	$139,680	$132,524	16%
27	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.08	$159,420	$132,629	24%
28	IllinoisState	1.05	$126,100	$129,466	12%
29	TennesseeState	1.04	$117,480	$128,393	13%
30	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.04	$118,190	$128,467	13%
31	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.03	$126,550	$127,186	14%
32	West VirginiaState	1.02	$105,950	$125,831	9%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$129,850	$122,732	16%
34	MississippiState	0.99	$103,640	$122,217	10%
35	MarylandState	0.98	$131,210	$120,156	15%
36	FloridaState	0.97	$121,890	$120,089	17%
37	MaineState	0.96	$117,560	$117,796	13%
38	KansasState	0.95	$105,440	$117,156	12%
39	OregonState	0.95	$120,760	$117,243	16%
40	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$127,360	$117,382	19%
41	AlabamaState	0.94	$101,420	$116,441	11%
42	MissouriState	0.94	$102,990	$116,242	12%
43	IndianaState	0.93	$104,160	$115,094	12%
44	IowaState	0.93	$101,800	$114,126	11%
45	NebraskaState	0.93	$104,780	$114,514	12%
46	South CarolinaState	0.93	$105,740	$114,935	14%
47	IdahoState	0.92	$109,620	$113,596	13%
48	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.91	$125,850	$111,569	19%
49	WyomingState	0.90	$102,990	$110,742	11%
50	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.90	$126,990	$111,102	21%
51	ArkansasState	0.89	$94,410	$109,397	11%
52	WashingtonState	0.89	$117,730	$109,720	19%
53	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.88	$106,440	$108,061	19%
54	MontanaState	0.87	$103,690	$107,562	13%
55	LouisianaState	0.86	$95,940	$106,482	13%
56	New MexicoState	0.86	$97,920	$106,435	13%
57	NevadaState	0.85	$105,340	$105,130	17%
58	ArizonaState	0.83	$103,060	$102,141	17%
59	HawaiiState	0.83	$113,030	$102,755	25%
60	MinnesotaState	0.82	$98,630	$100,643	16%
61	VirginiaState	0.82	$104,890	$101,343	18%
62	UtahState	0.81	$99,610	$99,411	18%
63	Rhode IslandState	0.80	$98,820	$98,328	18%
64	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.80	$105,910	$98,247	20%
65	AlaskaState	0.78	$100,120	$95,992	16%
66	South DakotaState	0.75	$83,710	$92,192	14%

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