Mid-career New York baseline: $120,000. Each city lists local-market pay and a COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent — the equivalent is not market pay.
| # | City | Local market | Lifestyle equivalent | COLI | Take-Home % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zurich | CHF 119,008 | CHF 119,008 | 122.4 | 58.4% |
| 2 | Geneva | CHF 115,313 | CHF 115,313 | 118.6 | 54.7% |
| 3 | New York | $120,000 | $120,000 | 100.0 | 63.8% |
| 4 | San Francisco | $117,120 | $117,120 | 97.6 | 65.0% |
| 5 | Singapore | S$137,097 | S$137,097 | 87.7 | 77.5% |
| 6 | London | £79,066 | £79,066 | 87.5 | 67.8% |
| 7 | Copenhagen | kr 652,817 | kr 652,817 | 85.7 | 56.2% |
| 8 | Amsterdam | €84,043 | €84,043 | 82.6 | 61.8% |
| 9 | Boston | $98,880 | $98,880 | 82.4 | 66.4% |
| 10 | Tel Aviv | ₪351,157 | ₪351,157 | 81.3 | 65.2% |
| 11 | Miami | $96,120 | $96,120 | 80.1 | 75.5% |
| 12 | Washington DC | $95,760 | $95,760 | 79.8 | 67.0% |
| 13 | Seattle | $95,400 | $95,400 | 79.5 | 75.5% |
| 14 | Oslo | kr 946,256 | kr 946,256 | 78.5 | 64.2% |
| 15 | San Diego | $93,000 | $93,000 | 77.5 | 66.4% |
| 16 | Tokyo | ¥14,369,418 | ¥14,369,418 | 77.3 | 62.9% |
| 17 | Los Angeles | $91,560 | $91,560 | 76.3 | 66.5% |
| 18 | Sydney | A$127,031 | A$127,031 | 74.5 | 77.3% |
| 19 | Hong Kong | HK$691,663 | HK$691,663 | 73.6 | 85.5% |
| 20 | Chicago | $87,840 | $87,840 | 73.2 | 71.0% |
| 21 | Dublin | €74,072 | €74,072 | 72.8 | 67.3% |
| 22 | Dubai | AED 314,744 | AED 314,744 | 72.4 | 100.0% |
| 23 | Doha | QAR 303,958 | QAR 303,958 | 69.5 | 100.0% |
| 24 | Seoul | ₩104,968,735 | ₩104,968,735 | 68.9 | 70.3% |
| 25 | Philadelphia | $82,560 | $82,560 | 68.8 | 73.3% |
| 26 | Luxembourg City | €69,595 | €69,595 | 68.4 | 63.3% |
| 27 | Melbourne | A$116,289 | A$116,289 | 68.2 | 77.9% |
| 28 | Abu Dhabi | AED 294,746 | AED 294,746 | 67.8 | 100.0% |
| 29 | Portland | $80,640 | $80,640 | 67.2 | 66.6% |
| 30 | Denver | $78,840 | $78,840 | 65.7 | 72.2% |
| 31 | Vancouver | C$106,255 | C$106,255 | 65.4 | 70.3% |
| 32 | Austin | $77,760 | $77,760 | 64.8 | 76.7% |
| 33 | Tampa | $77,400 | $77,400 | 64.5 | 76.7% |
| 34 | Stockholm | kr 702,458 | kr 702,458 | 64.3 | 58.5% |
| 35 | Perth | A$108,275 | A$108,275 | 63.5 | 78.5% |
| 36 | Atlanta | $75,840 | $75,840 | 63.2 | 71.4% |
| 37 | Nashville | $75,360 | $75,360 | 62.8 | 76.9% |
| 38 | Osaka | ¥11,673,990 | ¥11,673,990 | 62.8 | 65.4% |
| 39 | Dallas | $75,000 | $75,000 | 62.5 | 76.9% |
| 40 | Toronto | C$101,219 | C$101,219 | 62.3 | 68.8% |
| 41 | Edinburgh | £56,114 | £56,114 | 62.1 | 72.3% |
| 42 | Munich | €62,574 | €62,574 | 61.5 | 60.1% |
| 43 | Minneapolis | $73,680 | $73,680 | 61.4 | 69.2% |
| 44 | Auckland | NZ$117,571 | NZ$117,571 | 60.8 | 71.7% |
| 45 | Houston | $72,240 | $72,240 | 60.2 | 77.2% |
| 46 | Charlotte | $71,760 | $71,760 | 59.8 | 72.7% |
| 47 | Phoenix | $70,680 | $70,680 | 58.9 | 74.8% |
| 48 | Raleigh | $70,320 | $70,320 | 58.6 | 72.9% |
| 49 | Helsinki | €59,217 | €59,217 | 58.2 | 64.8% |
| 50 | Las Vegas | $69,840 | $69,840 | 58.2 | 77.4% |
| 51 | Milan | €58,810 | €58,810 | 57.8 | 59.9% |
| 52 | Nice | €53,621 | €53,621 | 52.7 | 60.5% |
| 53 | Montreal | C$84,647 | C$84,647 | 52.1 | 62.6% |
| 54 | Fukuoka | ¥9,554,827 | ¥9,554,827 | 51.4 | 68.3% |
| 55 | Berlin | €52,094 | €52,094 | 51.2 | 61.2% |
| 56 | Brussels | €51,179 | €51,179 | 50.3 | 60.7% |
| 57 | Rome | €50,161 | €50,161 | 49.3 | 62.0% |
| 58 | Vienna | €49,042 | €49,042 | 48.2 | 58.7% |
| 59 | Paris | €47,719 | €47,719 | 46.9 | 62.1% |
| 60 | Shanghai | ¥373,218 | ¥373,218 | 46.2 | 61.1% |
| 61 | Taipei | NT$1,700,241 | NT$1,700,241 | 44.8 | 83.1% |
| 62 | Beijing | ¥351,407 | ¥351,407 | 43.5 | 61.6% |
| 63 | Riyadh | SAR 191,700 | SAR 191,700 | 42.6 | 90.2% |
| 64 | Panama City | $50,760 | $50,760 | 42.3 | 78.4% |
| 65 | Barcelona | €42,835 | €42,835 | 42.1 | 66.7% |
| 66 | Shenzhen | ¥338,481 | ¥338,481 | 41.9 | 61.9% |
| 67 | São Paulo | R$253,066 | R$253,066 | 41.8 | 70.8% |
| 68 | Guangzhou | ¥312,631 | ¥312,631 | 38.7 | 62.7% |
| 69 | Madrid | €38,664 | €38,664 | 38.0 | 67.8% |
| 70 | Bangkok | ฿1,383,470 | ฿1,383,470 | 37.2 | 84.1% |
| 71 | Cancún | MX$727,861 | MX$727,861 | 35.8 | 76.3% |
| 72 | Lisbon | €35,306 | €35,306 | 34.7 | 63.4% |
| 73 | Valencia | €34,085 | €34,085 | 33.5 | 69.0% |
| 74 | Santiago | CLP 37,350,000 | CLP 37,350,000 | 33.2 | 74.8% |
| 75 | Kuala Lumpur | RM 160,048 | RM 160,048 | 32.8 | 73.7% |
| 76 | Mexico City | MX$660,768 | MX$660,768 | 32.5 | 77.3% |
| 77 | Montevideo | $U 1,638,705 | $U 1,638,705 | 32.5 | 68.3% |
| 78 | Split | €32,356 | €32,356 | 31.8 | 60.0% |
| 79 | Málaga | €31,745 | €31,745 | 31.2 | 69.4% |
| 80 | San José (CR) | ₡18,945,542 | ₡18,945,542 | 31.2 | 84.5% |
| 81 | Playa del Carmen | MX$626,205 | MX$626,205 | 30.8 | 77.8% |
| 82 | Athens | €31,135 | €31,135 | 30.6 | 65.9% |
| 83 | Prague | Kč 846,108 | Kč 846,108 | 30.6 | 74.0% |
| 84 | Phuket | ฿1,134,297 | ฿1,134,297 | 30.5 | 86.1% |
| 85 | Porto | €30,626 | €30,626 | 30.1 | 65.2% |
| 86 | Tallinn | €29,405 | €29,405 | 28.9 | 83.7% |
| 87 | Cape Town | R 621,036 | R 621,036 | 28.4 | 74.1% |
| 88 | Warsaw | zł 133,446 | zł 133,446 | 28.4 | 75.0% |
| 89 | Lagos | ₦51,804,217 | ₦51,804,217 | 27.3 | 68.4% |
| 90 | Manila | ₱1,804,157 | ₱1,804,157 | 26.8 | 75.4% |
| 91 | Ho Chi Minh City | ₫792,000,000 | ₫792,000,000 | 26.4 | 68.4% |
| 92 | Budapest | Ft 11,249,729 | Ft 11,249,729 | 26.1 | 66.5% |
| 93 | Lima | S/114,701 | S/114,701 | 25.8 | 77.0% |
| 94 | Buenos Aires | AR$34,236,145 | AR$34,236,145 | 25.6 | 50.5% |
| 95 | Bali (Denpasar) | Rp 468,659,639 | Rp 468,659,639 | 25.3 | 76.6% |
| 96 | Riga | €25,742 | €25,742 | 25.3 | 68.8% |
| 97 | Phnom Penh | $29,760 | $29,760 | 24.8 | 100.0% |
| 98 | Nairobi | KSh 3,827,756 | KSh 3,827,756 | 24.7 | 65.6% |
| 99 | Jakarta | Rp 453,840,361 | Rp 453,840,361 | 24.5 | 76.8% |
| 100 | Hanoi | ₫723,000,000 | ₫723,000,000 | 24.1 | 69.2% |
| 101 | Krakow | zł 111,831 | zł 111,831 | 23.8 | 77.5% |
| 102 | Istanbul | ₺887,123 | ₺887,123 | 23.1 | 57.7% |
| 103 | Bogotá | COP 114,224,096 | COP 114,224,096 | 22.9 | 77.4% |
| 104 | Chiang Mai | ฿840,495 | ฿840,495 | 22.6 | 89.0% |
| 105 | Bucharest | lei 114,262 | lei 114,262 | 22.5 | 55.0% |
| 106 | Mumbai | ₹2,226,642 | ₹2,226,642 | 22.3 | 83.0% |
| 107 | Casablanca | MAD 257,611 | MAD 257,611 | 22.1 | 65.2% |
| 108 | Bangalore | ₹2,076,867 | ₹2,076,867 | 20.8 | 83.9% |
| 109 | Medellín | COP 101,754,217 | COP 101,754,217 | 20.4 | 79.0% |
| 110 | Delhi | ₹1,947,063 | ₹1,947,063 | 19.5 | 84.8% |
| 111 | Marrakech | MAD 223,807 | MAD 223,807 | 19.2 | 66.6% |
| 112 | Chennai | ₹1,887,154 | ₹1,887,154 | 18.9 | 85.3% |
| 113 | Cairo | E£983,711 | E£983,711 | 16.8 | 66.6% |
Data covers 113 cities. Local market = verified / OECD / COLI badge (same as /is-my-salary-good/). Lifestyle equivalent = NYC baseline × city COLI / 100 — not market pay. Updated 2026.
Typical pilot salary range (New York baseline, USD):
The mid-career pilot New York baseline is $120,000. Each city shows two numbers: local-market pay (verified national stats, OECD estimate, or COLI fallback) and a lifestyle equivalent (NYC baseline scaled by city COLI). The equivalent is not what someone earns locally.
The highest COLI-scaled lifestyle equivalent for a pilot is Zurich at $146,880 USD. That figure is purchasing-power scaled from the New York baseline, not local market pay. See both columns in the table for all 113 cities.
Local-market pay uses the same country multipliers as /is-my-salary-good/ (verified national statistics, OECD wage ratios, or COLI fallback). Lifestyle equivalent starts from the New York baseline and scales by city COLI (NYC = 100). Take-home percentage is tax and social contributions on the local-market figure.