🏆 2026 Market Rankings

Highest Paying Cities for Avionic Technician (2026)

This page looks at highest paying cities for Avionic Technician through Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest official BLS wage baseline. It shows which cities lead on pay, how big the gap is after the top spot, and where job opportunities are most concentrated.

In practice, San Francisco, CA currently leads at $120,768/year, while Seattle, WA gives you a useful second benchmark at $119,432. That makes it easier to judge whether the leader is far ahead or part of a tighter upper tier.

📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Avionic Technician · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
San Francisco, CA
$121K est.
2
Seattle, WA
$119K est.
3
San Jose, CA
$117K est.
4
Philadelphia, PA
$116K est.
5
Portland, OR
$115K est.
#1 City
San Francisco, CA
$121K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
70
employment estimate
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Highest Paying Cities for Avionic Technician: Full Ranking

If you're comparing the best cities for avionic technician, San Francisco, CA sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $120,768 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Seattle, WA at $119,432, which helps show whether the pay curve drops quickly or stays fairly tight after the leader. On entry-level pages, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy for starting pay, because the public source data does not offer a clean entry-level field for every role.

1
San Francisco, CA
70 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$120,768
official baseline $121K
2
Seattle, WA
4,870 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$119,432
official baseline $119K
3
San Jose, CA
40 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$116,704
official baseline $117K
4
Philadelphia, PA
100 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$115,883
official baseline $116K
5
Portland, OR
100 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$114,612
official baseline $115K
6
Baltimore, MD
90 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$111,337
official baseline $111K
7
Lexington Park, MD
50 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$108,555
official baseline $109K
8
New York, NY
200 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,207
official baseline $107K
9
Washington, DC
N/A employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,065
official baseline $107K
10
Los Angeles, CA
460 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$105,148
official baseline $105K
11
Bakersfield, CA
150 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$104,348
official baseline $104K
12
Urban Honolulu, HI
120 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$99,485.0
official baseline $99.5K

What Avionic Technician Do

Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Avionic Technician salary markets are easier to compare when the underlying role is clear.

This role combines strong pay potential with a specific preparation path and day-to-day work profile.

Avionic Technician Salary Trend

This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind avionic technician is easier to read from the national salary trend. That helps show whether the role is sitting on a stable long-run wage climb or just posting a short-term local spike.

Careerclev's current 2026 estimate applies an annual modeled growth rate of 0.9% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.

2026·$78.1KEstimated
$67.8K
2020
$69.3K
2021
$75.5K
2022
$77.4K
2023
$76.8K
2024
$77.4K
2025*
$78.1K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
20202026 trend (est.)
15.1%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model

* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($76.8K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.

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Entry-Level Pay Signals

A high median salary only tells half the story. What matters for career planning is where starting pay actually lands. Because BLS does not publish a clean entry-level label for every role, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy. Baltimore, MD shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $109,113, compared with a long-run median of $111,337. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.

JobEntry ProxyMedian SalaryPrep PathTypical Education
San Francisco, CA$108,095$120,768VariesEducation path varies by employer
Seattle, WA$89,133.0$119,432VariesEducation path varies by employer
San Jose, CA$103,932$116,704VariesEducation path varies by employer
Philadelphia, PA$91,258.0$115,883VariesEducation path varies by employer
Portland, OR$88,388.0$114,612VariesEducation path varies by employer
Baltimore, MD$109,113$111,337VariesEducation path varies by employer
Lexington Park, MD$91,970.0$108,555VariesEducation path varies by employer
New York, NY$86,888.0$107,207VariesEducation path varies by employer

Jobs With Strong Demand

Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Avionic Technician, Seattle, WA combines a salary of $119,432 with roughly 4,870 employed workers, which makes it one of the more accessible high-pay options on this list. By contrast, some specialties rank higher on salary but operate as narrower niches where openings are harder to find and entry paths are longer.

Very Deep Market
Seattle, WA
$119,432
4,870 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
Los Angeles, CA
$105,148
460 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
New York, NY
$107,207
200 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Bakersfield, CA
$104,348
150 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Urban Honolulu, HI
$99,485.0
120 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Philadelphia, PA
$115,883
100 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.

Salary vs Employment

The highest-paying job is not always the largest market, and that distinction changes the practical calculus. San Francisco, CA leads on salary at $120,768, while Seattle, WA supports roughly 4,870 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.

San Francisco, CASOC 49-2091
$121K
70
Seattle, WASOC 49-2091
$119K
4,870
San Jose, CASOC 49-2091
$117K
40
Philadelphia, PASOC 49-2091
$116K
100
Portland, ORSOC 49-2091
$115K
100
Baltimore, MDSOC 49-2091
$111K
90
Lexington Park, MDSOC 49-2091
$109K
50
New York, NYSOC 49-2091
$107K
200

How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically

Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Avionic Technician, the gap between San Francisco, CA at $120,768 and the early-pay signal from Baltimore, MD at $109,113 shows why access, market size, and training timelines belong in the same conversation as the headline number. That is where this page becomes more useful than a simple ranking list.

1
Match salary to access realistically
A high median means little if there are only a handful of openings per year. Check the employment estimate alongside the salary. A role with 4,870 workers in Avionic Technician is fundamentally easier to enter than one with a few hundred.
2
Factor in education and licensure timelines
Some of the highest-paying roles on this list sit in prep bands such as Varies and often pair that with expectations like education path varies by employer. Build that timeline into your planning before targeting the salary ceiling.
3
Separate entry pay from long-run upside
The entry proxy column in this guide gives you an early-career anchor. A role that starts at $109,113 and scales to $111,337 offers a very different career arc than one that starts and peaks near the same figure.
4
Check the work before chasing the pay
Compare the day-to-day work with the training path before you commit. A role can rank highly on pay and still be a poor fit if the work itself does not match the kind of problems, environment, or responsibilities you want.
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Next Pages to Read

High-pay rankings are most useful when you read them alongside the core salary guide, the career entry path, and a few nearby role comparisons. That turns this page from a ranking into a better decision route for avionic technician.

FAQs

These questions cover the practical parts of the ranking: how entry pay is estimated, why wage fields sometimes differ by source, and how to compare the top salary with the real size of the job market.

Which city pays the most for Avionic Technician?
San Francisco, CA currently leads this avionic technician ranking at $120,768 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline.
Is the entry-level pay data directly from BLS?
Not exactly. BLS publishes wage percentiles rather than experience-level labels, so Careerclev uses the 25th percentile (or the low-end wage where available) as an entry-pay proxy. It is a transparent approximation, not a direct label.
Which city pays the most for Avionic Technician?
San Francisco, CA currently leads this avionic technician pay ranking at $120,768 per year, with an employment estimate of 70. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does Avionic Technician usually require?
Avionic Technician is currently tagged as varies in the O*NET prep model. The most common education signal is education path varies by employer, while the training path is described as training path varies.
Does the top-paying market also have the deepest employment base?
Not always. Seattle, WA may support a deeper employment base than the #1 salary market, which can make them more practical despite a lower pay ceiling.
How should I compare salary with accessibility?
Use the ranking salary, entry-pay proxy, employment estimate, and preparation path together. The best target is usually the role that balances strong pay with a realistic path in.
Can a lower-ranked job be a better target than San Francisco, CA?
Yes. A lower-ranked role can be the better choice if it has a shorter prep path, stronger entry pay, more openings, or a work profile that fits you better than San Francisco, CA.
Why do some high-paying roles look hard to enter?
Many top-paying roles sit behind longer training, licensing, or related-experience requirements. That is why Careerclev shows preparation signals next to salary instead of treating all high-paying jobs as equally accessible.
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Data Sources & MethodologyRankings use Careerclev salary facts built from BLS OEWS wage data and extended through Careerclev's current salary projection model where applicable. National pages use U.S. aggregate data, state pages use state-level data, and city pages use the BLS metro dataset behind the largest-city public label. Category labels are derived from BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) major group codes, while prep-path notes come from imported O*NET job-zone and career requirement data where available.
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