Commercial Pilots Salary — Portland, Oregon

The average Commercial Pilots in Portland, Oregon earns $145,760 a year.

$145,760 / year, mean
↓ 0.7% below national average 75th percentile in Oregon

Portland pays well above most of Oregon for this role, landing in the top third statewide. That's close to the national average for commercial pilots — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Oregon

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
300
Estimate confidence
RSE 5.3%
Cost of living 105 #21 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2419 #180 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $552,022 #24 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $94,573 #19 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Portland ranks #21 for cost of living and #24 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Kiryas Joel $226,850 Santa Rosa $218,810 Louisville $210,350 New York $204,770 Trenton $183,200 San Francisco $181,600 Port St. Lucie $180,600 Seattle $180,290 Lexington Park $179,850 San Jose $177,010 Modesto $176,410 Dallas $171,660 Chicago $171,200 Medford $168,470 Allentown $166,500 Buffalo $161,860 Santa Maria $161,510 Midland $160,280 Philadelphia $157,600 San Diego $156,890 Miami $156,130 Naples $154,470 Reading $153,460 Bakersfield $150,610 Chico $150,150 Redding $149,700 Peoria $149,360 Grand Rapids $147,860 Pittsburgh $147,180 Sacramento $146,350 Tampa $146,330 Portland $145,760 Austin $141,740 Crestview $141,480 San Antonio $141,380 Houston $140,580 Salem $140,360 Riverside $139,460 Baltimore $138,060 Indianapolis $138,020 Richmond $137,100 Rochester $137,000 Lansing $134,340 Oxnard $134,320 Lakeland $133,330 Detroit $132,400 Jacksonville $131,550 Lexington $129,460 Orlando $128,640 Palm Bay $128,110 Sarasota $126,830 Stockton $125,550 Fresno $125,370 Salinas $118,490 Spokane $117,130 Ann Arbor $115,170 Tallahassee $114,650 Columbus $113,730 Corpus Christi $113,320 Ocala $110,510 Bend $108,670 Fort Myers $108,630 Virginia Beach $105,720 Pensacola $105,480 Deltona $105,140 El Paso $104,990 Visalia $90,500 Champaign $75,760 Sebastian $64,030
CityMean salaryvs. Portland
Allentown, Pennsylvania$166,500+14.2%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$115,170-21.0%
Austin, Texas$141,740-2.8%
Bakersfield, California$150,610+3.3%
Baltimore, Maryland$138,060-5.3%
Bend, Oregon$108,670-25.4%
Buffalo, New York$161,860+11.0%
Fort Myers, Florida$108,630-25.5%
Champaign, Illinois$75,760-48.0%
Chicago, Illinois$171,200+17.5%
Chico, California$150,150+3.0%
Columbus, Indiana$113,730-22.0%
Corpus Christi, Texas$113,320-22.3%
Crestview, Florida$141,480-2.9%
Dallas, Texas$171,660+17.8%
Deltona, Florida$105,140-27.9%
Detroit, Michigan$132,400-9.2%
El Paso, Texas$104,990-28.0%
Fresno, California$125,370-14.0%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$147,860+1.4%
Houston, Texas$140,580-3.6%
Indianapolis, Indiana$138,020-5.3%
Jacksonville, Florida$131,550-9.7%
Kiryas Joel, New York$226,850+55.6%
Lakeland, Florida$133,330-8.5%
Lansing, Michigan$134,340-7.8%
Lexington, Kentucky$129,460-11.2%
Lexington Park, Maryland$179,850+23.4%
Louisville, Kentucky$210,350+44.3%
Medford, Oregon$168,470+15.6%
Miami, Florida$156,130+7.1%
Midland, Texas$160,280+10.0%
Modesto, California$176,410+21.0%
Naples, Florida$154,470+6.0%
New York, New York$204,770+40.5%
Sarasota, Florida$126,830-13.0%
Ocala, Florida$110,510-24.2%
Orlando, Florida$128,640-11.7%
Oxnard, California$134,320-7.8%
Palm Bay, Florida$128,110-12.1%
Pensacola, Florida$105,480-27.6%
Peoria, Illinois$149,360+2.5%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$157,600+8.1%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$147,180+1.0%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$180,600+23.9%
Reading, Pennsylvania$153,460+5.3%
Redding, California$149,700+2.7%
Richmond, Virginia$137,100-5.9%
Riverside, California$139,460-4.3%
Rochester, New York$137,000-6.0%
Sacramento, California$146,350+0.4%
Salem, Oregon$140,360-3.7%
Salinas, California$118,490-18.7%
San Antonio, Texas$141,380-3.0%
San Diego, California$156,890+7.6%
San Francisco, California$181,600+24.6%
San Jose, California$177,010+21.4%
Santa Maria, California$161,510+10.8%
Santa Rosa, California$218,810+50.1%
Seattle, Washington$180,290+23.7%
Sebastian, Florida$64,030-56.1%
Spokane, Washington$117,130-19.6%
Stockton, California$125,550-13.9%
Tallahassee, Florida$114,650-21.3%
Tampa, Florida$146,330+0.4%
Trenton, New Jersey$183,200+25.7%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$105,720-27.5%
Visalia, California$90,500-37.9%

This metro area spans more than one state — where you actually pay income tax depends on where you work, not just where BLS assigns the area. Choose your work state:

Gross salary
145,760/yr
Estimated take-home
98,490/yr
Est. total withheld
32.4%

Single filer, federal + state tax (where the selected state levies one) + FICA, 2025 rates, for whichever state you select above. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional.

View cost of living in this state All Commercial Pilots salaries in Oregon → All Commercial Pilots salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Portland

These notes add local color around Portland, Oregon: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 53-2012 SOC code
Official area Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 38900 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: or_dor_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
VancouverHillsboro
Multi-state area: OR;WA
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Oregon

Population (metro area)
2,510,529