Best Cities for Flight Attendantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where flight attendantss 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	New YorkState	1.77	$126,650	$112,578	18%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.40	$83,450	$89,251	19%
3	GeorgiaState	1.32	$78,320	$83,854	22%
4	UtahState	1.30	$82,730	$82,565	22%
5	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.27	$78,320	$80,909	25%
6	CaliforniaState	1.17	$82,170	$74,228	33%
7	ConnecticutState	1.14	$78,180	$72,658	24%
8	OhioState	1.09	$62,440	$69,071	20%
9	WashingtonState	1.09	$74,090	$69,049	31%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$62,490	$68,520	23%
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.07	$64,890	$67,735	28%
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$79,390	$68,146	34%
13	MichiganState	1.06	$62,490	$67,703	21%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.03	$75,100	$65,704	35%
15	IdahoState	1.01	$62,200	$64,456	23%
16	IllinoisState	1.00	$62,120	$63,778	25%
17	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.99	$61,100	$62,860	31%
18	MinnesotaState	0.98	$61,230	$62,480	25%
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$61,230	$61,538	29%
20	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$60,840	$61,766	34%
21	ArizonaState	0.96	$61,780	$61,229	29%
22	TexasState	0.96	$58,220	$60,900	29%
23	OregonState	0.94	$61,480	$59,689	31%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.90	$61,480	$57,032	35%
25	ColoradoState	0.89	$59,500	$56,452	37%
26	MassachusettsState	0.89	$61,510	$56,691	44%
27	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.89	$63,580	$56,365	38%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.85	$61,510	$54,194	50%
29	NevadaState	0.81	$51,800	$51,697	34%
30	FloridaState	0.73	$47,320	$46,621	44%
31	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.69	$47,320	$43,613	52%
32	PennsylvaniaState	0.64	$39,520	$40,742	39%
33	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.60	$39,520	$38,184	48%

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