Highest-paying Cities for Commercial Pilots

The top 100 highest paying cities for commercial pilots (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of commercial pilots in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $173,550, Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi is the highest paying city for commercial pilots. It is followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York (average annual salary $170,300). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of commercial pilots in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Commercial Pilots

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Southeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$173,550	$96,980	50
2	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$170,300	$81,020	1,040
3	Springfield, Massachusetts	$165,620	$120,620	60
4	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$160,080	$101,110	120
5	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$159,250	$71,220	80
6	Savannah, Georgia	$159,040	$80,700	90
7	Port St Lucie, Florida	$150,070	$54,520	90
8	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida	$149,300	$67,050	190
9	Mobile, Alabama	$148,760	$64,650	40
10	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$148,490	$60,300	910
11	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$145,530	$78,620	290
12	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$144,660	$63,110	90
13	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$143,760	$79,720	40
14	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$139,950	$94,410	290
15	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$138,480	$59,630	3,180
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$136,750	$66,960	1,910
17	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$136,670	$73,040	30
18	Southwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area, Oklahoma	$136,530	$78,510	50
19	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$136,170	$62,710	530
20	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$134,890	$50,190	150
21	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$134,460	$67,010	390
22	North Florida nonmetropolitan area, Florida	$134,230	$53,980	50
23	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$134,010	$70,250	40
24	Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, South Carolina	$132,250	$109,270	60
25	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$132,230	$45,900	580
26	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$130,320	$82,680	70
27	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$130,040	$62,830	490
28	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$129,890	$73,460	180
29	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$129,420	$41,380	140
30	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$128,720	$26,050	n/a
31	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$127,080	$50,650	40
32	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$126,640	$67,510	950
33	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	$126,020	$68,580	60
34	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$125,950	$62,200	240
35	Naples-Marco Island, Florida	$125,780	$58,200	100
36	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$125,390	$59,020	50
37	Fargo, North Dakota	$125,060	$66,790	60
38	Wilmington, North Carolina	$122,110	$67,190	30
39	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$121,600	$97,250	870
40	East Arkansas nonmetropolitan area, Arkansas	$121,530	$73,270	190
41	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$120,990	$51,990	1,020
42	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$120,430	$46,550	380
43	Corpus Christi, Texas	$120,430	$75,990	80
44	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$119,810	$58,790	2,060
45	Richmond, Virginia	$119,530	$60,370	110
46	Spartanburg, South Carolina	$117,670	$106,520	n/a
47	Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$117,400	$79,420	50
48	Sioux City, South Dakota	$117,200	$79,760	30
49	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$116,990	$76,540	290
50	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$116,860	$46,960	40
51	Midland, Texas	$115,870	$53,630	60
52	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$115,170	$51,490	80
53	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$115,070	$64,500	250
54	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$114,660	$77,580	340
55	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$114,190	$45,470	1,090
56	Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area, Idaho	$114,010	$65,440	30
57	Northwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$113,610	$50,000	60
58	Provo-Orem, Utah	$112,360	$58,550	40
59	Southwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$112,300	$68,310	50
60	Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana	$112,010	$77,700	240
61	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$111,970	$65,300	130
62	Anchorage, Alaska	$111,940	$70,660	1,120
63	Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas	$111,560	$46,730	110
64	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$111,360	$64,520	570
65	Wichita, Kansas	$111,330	$33,870	310
66	Fairbanks, Alaska	$111,170	$68,030	40
67	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$110,330	$54,210	260
68	Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$109,970	$60,090	80
69	Jacksonville, Florida	$109,940	$54,790	240
70	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$109,790	$43,980	50
71	Kansas City, Missouri	$109,710	$24,040	330
72	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$109,200	$75,350	920
73	Northeastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$107,400	$51,520	170
74	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$107,350	$49,100	160
75	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$107,050	$58,010	90
76	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$106,960	$53,630	80
77	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$106,890	$39,010	720
78	Jackson, Mississippi	$106,850	$52,300	70
79	Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida	$106,380	$39,510	40
80	Salt Lake City, Utah	$106,180	$64,830	250
81	Springfield, Missouri	$105,650	$66,920	60
82	Southcentral Idaho nonmetropolitan area, Idaho	$105,520	$56,250	n/a
83	Western Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$105,340	$62,200	70
84	Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$104,770	$49,130	90
85	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$104,150	$39,620	130
86	Ogden-Clearfield, Utah	$103,910	$61,410	100
87	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$103,710	$40,960	370
88	Huntsville, Alabama	$103,630	$52,480	160
89	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$103,590	$49,250	300
90	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$103,560	$84,900	60
91	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$103,530	$51,410	30
92	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$103,520	$60,840	200
93	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$103,340	$35,770	100
94	Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina	$102,740	$48,340	60
95	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$102,420	$39,780	360
96	Knoxville, Tennessee	$102,290	$82,950	110
97	Abilene, Texas	$102,290	$53,710	40
98	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$102,260	$62,520	60
99	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$102,220	$62,090	90
100	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida	$102,020	$36,910	60

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for commercial pilots.