Air Traffic Control - Highest Paying City?

Question

Which city is the highest paying for air traffic controllers? Also, which have the highest starting pay?

Answer 1

Dallas at Fort Worth or Midway Airport in Chicago would be the highest because they are one of the heaviest volumes every year.

Answer 2

Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Answer 3

The most expensive cities have the highest pay. Anchorage is near the top, and that is my personal choice of mid-size cities. So, decide where you want to live based on lifestyle, not pay. Higher pay does not usually translate to more savings. Personally I would not want to live in any of the major cities like NY or LA and have  accepted lower pay to live and work where I want to. Look for government charts for COLA (cost of living adjustment) listed for each city to get an idea of relative salary differences. Start your research here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_liv...

Answer 4

The highest basic pay goes to controllers at the busiest facilities.  Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) and very busy terminal facilities have the highest pay scales.  However the situation is complicated by something called locality pay.  In many areas of the country, federal employees salaries are adjusted by a certain percentage to reflect the difference between federal pay scales and private industry scales in that area (not cost of living as is commonly believed).  Thus a controller working at a level 9 facility in an area with a large locality pay differential may actually be paid as much or more than a controller at a level 10 facility in an area with minimal or no locality pay adjustment.

The job generally pays well for any given level of work, and you may want to be less concerned with trying to absolutely maximize the numbers on a paycheck and more concerned with being hired as a controller in an area where you truly enjoy living.