Highest-paying Cities for Air Traffic Controllers

The top 100 highest paying cities for air traffic controllers (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 air traffic controllers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $174,510, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York is the highest paying city for air traffic controllers. It is followed by Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California (average annual salary $174,470). 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 air traffic controllers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Air Traffic Controllers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$174,510	$83,720	930
2	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$174,470	$117,730	230
3	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$172,870	$104,710	570
4	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$172,290	$103,710	690
5	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$168,830	$100,480	760
6	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$168,080	$97,910	450
7	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$167,460	$59,950	430
8	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$167,380	$63,980	240
9	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$166,090	$32,550	1,420
10	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$165,940	$82,530	160
11	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$162,120	$99,240	750
12	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$159,390	$87,340	510
13	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$159,160	$98,220	480
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$154,810	$93,640	460
15	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$154,590	$69,510	710
16	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$153,340	$81,740	120
17	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$152,740	$73,470	220
18	Jacksonville, Florida	$152,360	$83,100	390
19	Nashua, New Hampshire	$152,230	$132,280	400
20	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$148,620	$87,840	210
21	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$148,290	$94,070	430
22	Kansas City, Missouri	$145,450	$74,550	390
23	Anchorage, Alaska	$145,450	$85,570	260
24	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$144,850	$86,390	640
25	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$144,820	$82,640	800
26	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$143,800	$23,550	1,630
27	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$142,740	$80,880	80
28	Salt Lake City, Utah	$142,480	$69,930	320
29	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$140,750	$75,520	640
30	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$140,290	$95,750	170
31	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$139,840	$87,690	440
32	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$139,740	$83,470	150
33	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$135,840	$86,280	540
34	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$135,280	$72,550	720
35	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$134,760	$69,120	200
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$130,690	$56,120	790
37	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$130,400	$63,150	190
38	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$127,920	$83,750	450
39	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$127,510	$82,670	110
40	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$127,380	$86,930	70
41	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$125,200	$80,420	130
42	Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida	$124,490	$76,790	90
43	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$122,010	$92,320	70
44	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$121,890	$68,440	100
45	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$121,040	$89,310	n/a
46	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$120,280	$85,570	40
47	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$115,540	$74,880	90
48	Honolulu, Hawaii	$115,030	$60,550	n/a
49	Lawton, Oklahoma	$113,150	$85,540	n/a
50	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$113,020	$70,980	100
51	Columbus, Ohio	$112,650	$78,550	60
52	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$112,570	$64,150	80
53	Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida	$110,690	$78,980	80
54	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$110,390	$70,750	60
55	St Louis, Missouri	$109,450	$76,150	120
56	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$107,370	$81,580	40
57	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$105,040	$73,770	50
58	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$104,950	$92,850	50
59	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$104,120	$81,370	50
60	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$102,790	$78,270	90
61	Southeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area, Alabama	$101,590	$72,430	100
62	Wichita, Kansas	$101,110	$77,030	40
63	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$101,030	$72,710	60
64	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$99,260	$62,020	60
65	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida	$98,850	$79,600	50
66	Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas	$97,950	$66,770	50
67	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$97,410	$71,030	50
68	Savannah, Georgia	$97,290	$68,570	70
69	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$96,430	$75,710	110
70	Rochester, New York	$96,300	$60,250	40
71	Huntsville, Alabama	$95,620	$82,330	50
72	Springfield, Missouri	$95,220	$72,680	40
73	San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico	$95,220	$64,460	140
74	Yuma, Arizona	$94,700	$67,190	40
75	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$94,200	$70,620	40
76	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$94,190	$68,370	50
77	Dayton, Ohio	$93,460	$61,050	30
78	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$92,440	$59,470	40
79	Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi	$92,250	$57,510	30
80	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$92,130	$64,060	40
81	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$91,800	$74,720	50
82	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida	$91,750	$53,480	70
83	Fairbanks, Alaska	$91,730	$75,110	80
84	El Paso, Texas	$91,500	$76,710	40
85	Springfield, Massachusetts	$91,410	$62,250	70
86	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$90,980	$64,810	40
87	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$88,750	$43,160	40
88	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$88,340	$75,110	100
89	Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area, Indiana	$85,310	$69,610	n/a
90	Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$82,860	$62,160	40
91	Toledo, Ohio	$82,800	$63,690	30
92	Tucson, Arizona	$81,250	$46,820	90
93	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$76,890	$37,090	50
94	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$76,750	$66,890	70
95	Kansas nonmetropolitan area, Kansas	$76,540	$62,930	40
96	Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida	$76,310	$50,650	200
97	Jackson, Mississippi	$75,970	$59,350	30
98	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$74,800	$59,910	40
99	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$70,830	$42,300	50
100	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$64,810	$50,740	50

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for air traffic controllers.