Airfield Operations Specialists · SOC 53-2022

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Airfield Operations Specialistss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for airfield operations specialists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 48 metro areas

Airfield Operations Specialists: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$88,420	130	0.1
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$86,880	50	0.0
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$85,680	240	0.1
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$84,050	140	0.1
5	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$81,950	120	0.0
6	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$81,740	40	0.0
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$81,350	30	0.0
8	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$78,920	240	0.1
9	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$76,100	140	0.1
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$69,560	250	0.1
11	Anchorage, AK	$65,570	90	0.5
12	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$64,320	70	0.1
13	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$63,550	60	0.0
14	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$63,100	220	0.3
15	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$61,740	120	0.1
16	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$61,350	110	0.1
17	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$60,910	110	0.1
18	Columbus, OH	$60,830	80	0.1
19	Jacksonville, FL	$59,790	70	0.1
20	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$58,630	1,530	0.5
21	Cleveland, OH	$57,790	170	0.2
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$57,330	620	0.1
23	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$56,020	280	0.1
24	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$54,960	190	0.1
25	Pittsburgh, PA	$54,090	110	0.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Airfield Operations Specialists 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.