Best US Cities for Pilots
Top US cities for Pilots ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland, CA | $185,100 | 1.35× | +$51,100 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $176,200 | 1.45× | +$42,200 |
| 3 | Long Beach, CA | $167,500 | 1.18× | +$33,500 |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $164,000 | 1.32× | +$30,000 |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $163,900 | 1.22× | +$29,900 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $162,100 | 1.30× | +$28,100 |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $162,100 | 1.30× | +$28,100 |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | $162,000 | 1.20× | +$28,000 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $160,000 | 1.18× | +$26,000 |
| 10 | Anaheim, CA | $160,000 | 1.18× | +$26,000 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland, CA | $185,100 | $89/hr |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $176,200 | $85/hr |
| 3 | Long Beach, CA | $167,500 | $81/hr |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $164,000 | $79/hr |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | $163,900 | $79/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $162,100 | $78/hr |
| 7 | Irvine, CA | $162,100 | $78/hr |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | $162,000 | $78/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 10 | Anaheim, CA | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 11 | Newark, NJ | $159,200 | $77/hr |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $154,600 | $74/hr |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $154,000 | $74/hr |
| 14 | Baltimore, MD | $154,000 | $74/hr |
| 15 | Stockton, CA | $154,000 | $74/hr |
| 16 | Hialeah, FL | $154,000 | $74/hr |
| 17 | San Diego, CA | $153,700 | $74/hr |
| 18 | Yonkers, NY | $152,800 | $73/hr |
| 19 | Portland, OR | $152,000 | $73/hr |
| 20 | Riverside, CA | $152,000 | $73/hr |
| 21 | Scottsdale, AZ | $150,900 | $73/hr |
| 22 | Atlanta, GA | $150,800 | $73/hr |
| 23 | Tampa, FL | $150,800 | $73/hr |
| 24 | Reno, NV | $150,800 | $73/hr |
| 25 | Charleston, SC | $150,800 | $73/hr |
| 26 | Chesapeake, VA | $148,700 | $71/hr |
| 27 | North Las Vegas, NV | $148,700 | $71/hr |
| 28 | Chula Vista, CA | $148,100 | $71/hr |
| 29 | Aurora, CO | $147,000 | $71/hr |
| 30 | Frisco, TX | $147,000 | $71/hr |
| 31 | Norfolk, VA | $146,600 | $70/hr |
| 32 | Las Vegas, NV | $146,100 | $70/hr |
| 33 | Jacksonville, FL | $145,600 | $70/hr |
| 34 | Miami, FL | $145,300 | $70/hr |
| 35 | Fort Worth, TX | $144,500 | $69/hr |
| 36 | Glendale, AZ | $144,500 | $69/hr |
| 37 | Garland, TX | $144,500 | $69/hr |
| 38 | Spokane, WA | $144,500 | $69/hr |
| 39 | Henderson, NV | $144,100 | $69/hr |
| 40 | Arlington, TX | $143,500 | $69/hr |
| 41 | Sacramento, CA | $143,400 | $69/hr |
| 42 | Virginia Beach, VA | $142,000 | $68/hr |
| 43 | Boise, ID | $142,000 | $68/hr |
| 44 | Fresno, CA | $142,000 | $68/hr |
| 45 | Denver, CO | $141,500 | $68/hr |
| 46 | Dallas, TX | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 47 | Nashville, TN | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 48 | Bakersfield, CA | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 49 | Corpus Christi, TX | $140,400 | $68/hr |
| 50 | Greensboro, NC | $140,400 | $68/hr |
| 51 | El Paso, TX | $139,400 | $67/hr |
| 52 | Charlotte, NC | $139,100 | $67/hr |
| 53 | Mesa, AZ | $139,100 | $67/hr |
| 54 | Austin, TX | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 55 | Indianapolis, IN | $138,300 | $66/hr |
| 56 | Louisville, KY | $138,300 | $66/hr |
| 57 | Houston, TX | $138,000 | $66/hr |
| 58 | Minneapolis, MN | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 59 | Plano, TX | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 60 | Chandler, AZ | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 61 | Memphis, TN | $137,300 | $66/hr |
| 62 | Milwaukee, WI | $136,100 | $65/hr |
| 63 | Albuquerque, NM | $136,100 | $65/hr |
| 64 | New Orleans, LA | $136,100 | $65/hr |
| 65 | Phoenix, AZ | $135,900 | $65/hr |
| 66 | Philadelphia, PA | $135,900 | $65/hr |
| 67 | Gilbert, AZ | $135,900 | $65/hr |
| 68 | Salt Lake City, UT | $135,900 | $65/hr |
| 69 | Grand Rapids, MI | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 70 | Orlando, FL | $134,900 | $65/hr |
| 71 | Fort Wayne, IN | $134,200 | $65/hr |
| 72 | Columbus, OH | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 73 | Detroit, MI | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 74 | Cincinnati, OH | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 75 | Kansas City, MO | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 76 | Lexington, KY | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 77 | Knoxville, TN | $134,100 | $64/hr |
| 78 | Wilmington, DE | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 79 | Raleigh, NC | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 80 | St. Paul, MN | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 81 | Worcester, MA | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 82 | Cleveland, OH | $133,100 | $64/hr |
| 83 | St. Louis, MO | $133,100 | $64/hr |
| 84 | Colorado Springs, CO | $133,100 | $64/hr |
| 85 | St. Petersburg, FL | $133,100 | $64/hr |
| 86 | Madison, WI | $133,100 | $64/hr |
| 87 | Omaha, NE | $132,100 | $64/hr |
| 88 | Oklahoma City, OK | $131,100 | $63/hr |
| 89 | Tucson, AZ | $130,200 | $63/hr |
| 90 | Birmingham, AL | $130,100 | $63/hr |
| 91 | Toledo, OH | $130,100 | $63/hr |
| 92 | Pittsburgh, PA | $129,300 | $62/hr |
| 93 | Tallahassee, FL | $129,300 | $62/hr |
| 94 | Wichita, KS | $128,200 | $62/hr |
| 95 | Mobile, AL | $128,200 | $62/hr |
| 96 | San Antonio, TX | $127,400 | $61/hr |
| 97 | Buffalo, NY | $126,500 | $61/hr |
| 98 | Winston-Salem, NC | $125,600 | $60/hr |
| 99 | Lincoln, NE | $123,700 | $59/hr |
| 100 | Lubbock, TX | $122,700 | $59/hr |
Does location actually decide Pilot pay?
This is a career where location is not negotiable — the work has to be done on site. That makes the 51% gap across these metros consequential in a way it is not for desk-based occupations: capturing the top of this list means moving to it.
Worth checking before you plan around these numbers: Pilot needs FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate; airline jobs require an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, and reciprocity between states varies from automatic to nonexistent. The higher-paying metro is only worth what you can actually earn there after re-credentialing.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In Oakland, $185,100 against $2,100/month rent leaves roughly $159,900 a year after housing. In Lubbock, $122,700 against $800 leaves about $113,100. The top still wins after rent, but by $46,800 rather than the $62,400 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland); San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Long Beach (Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center). Depth of demand for transportation work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.