Aerospace Engineers · SOC 17-2011

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Aerospace Engineerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for aerospace engineers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 89 metro areas

Aerospace Engineers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$191,260	510	0.2
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$181,630	930	0.8
3	Omaha, NE-IA	$171,380	Not published	Not published
4	Boulder, CO	$167,160	800	4.2
5	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$166,980	1,220	0.9
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$166,420	2,420	0.8
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$163,580	5,480	2.6
8	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$163,280	5,200	0.8
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$159,950	120	0.1
10	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$156,190	2,010	1.2
11	Colorado Springs, CO	$151,980	990	3.1
12	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$150,700	40	0.1
13	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$150,220	Not published	Not published
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$149,470	960	0.4
15	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	$149,430	40	0.1
16	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$144,020	Not published	Not published
17	Cleveland, OH	$143,020	460	0.5
18	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$142,840	80	0.5
19	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$141,010	210	0.3
20	Greeley, CO	$140,780	50	0.4
21	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$140,540	60	0.2
22	Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	$139,010	800	1.0
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$138,670	110	0.1
24	Decatur, AL	$138,460	100	1.7
25	Lexington Park, MD	$138,380	960	13.6

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Aerospace Engineers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.