Pilot pay runs on seniority. Airline pay scales are set in union contracts, and BLS says routes, schedules and advancement all depend on how long a pilot has been with the airline. That is why the spread is so wide: a new first officer and a senior captain share the same BLS job title.

How much do airline pilots make?

BLS counted 103,560 airline pilot, copilot and flight engineer jobs in May 2025. Their pay spread:

Measure (May 2025) Annual pay
Lowest 10% earned less than $106,710
25th percentile $182,280
Median $232,140
Average (mean) $288,650
75th percentile $384,440
Top 10% earned more than $463,830

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, occupation 53-2011, from the BLS national data file downloaded October 27, 2026. BLS publishes annual pay only for this job, not an hourly rate.

The average is about $56,500 above the median, pulled up by senior captains at the big airlines. BLS says airline pilots fly an average of 75 hours a month and spend about 150 more hours a month on other duties such as flight planning.

Airline vs commercial pilot salary

Job (BLS title) Jobs Median, May 2025 Average
Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers 103,560 $232,140 $288,650
Air traffic controllers 22,510 $148,080 $146,490
Commercial pilots 47,630 $123,220 $146,080
Flight attendants 131,650 $63,580 $77,440

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national estimates.

Airline pilots earn almost twice as much as commercial pilots at the median. Commercial pilots fly for charter firms, air ambulances, tour operators, crop dusters and other non-airline work; many of them are building the flight hours needed for an airline job. For the people on the ground, see our air traffic controller salary guide.

Pilot salary by employer type

Industry Pilot jobs Median wage, May 2025
Scheduled airlines (passenger and cargo) 90,840 $293,240
Couriers and express delivery (cargo carriers) 5,730 $334,930
Federal government 2,720 $141,140
Support activities for air transportation 2,570 $202,680
Corporate headquarters (company flight departments) 600 $130,170
Flight schools 220 $88,230

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry estimates for occupation 53-2011.

Pilots at scheduled airlines earned a median $293,240, well above the overall median, because that group excludes lower-paid pilots elsewhere. Pilots in the courier and express delivery industry, which includes the package carriers' cargo airlines, earned the most, at $334,930. BLS also notes airline pilots get a per diem for every hour away from home, which these figures do not include.

Pilot salary by state

BLS WAGE DATA · MAY 2025

Airline pilot salary by state

Median annual wage and number of jobs in each state for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national median is $232,140.

Color the map by
Alabama: $136,990 medianALAlaska: $232,140 medianAKArizona: $227,870 medianAZArkansas: $168,970 medianARCalifornia: $353,900 medianCAColorado: $307,490 medianCOConnecticut: $199,870 medianDelaware: no BLS estimateFlorida: $225,020 medianFLGeorgia: $618,090 medianGAHawaii: no BLS estimateHIIdaho: $507,640 medianIDIllinois: $293,490 medianILIndiana: $171,260 medianINIowa: $131,730 medianIAKansas: $143,580 medianKSKentucky: $350,950 medianKYLouisiana: $120,740 medianLAMaine: $147,930 medianMEMaryland: no BLS estimateMassachusetts: no BLS estimateMichigan: $428,570 medianMIMinnesota: $211,470 medianMNMississippi: $143,580 medianMSMissouri: $97,680 medianMOMontana: no BLS estimateMTNebraska: $131,650 medianNENevada: $192,460 medianNVNew Hampshire: $99,280 medianNHNew Jersey: no BLS estimateNew Mexico: $136,990 medianNMNew York: $255,240 medianNYNorth Carolina: $151,540 medianNCNorth Dakota: no BLS estimateNDOhio: $204,170 medianOHOklahoma: $133,680 medianOKOregon: $173,190 medianORPennsylvania: $164,990 medianPARhode Island: $164,880 medianSouth Carolina: $143,580 medianSCSouth Dakota: no BLS estimateSDTennessee: $143,580 medianTNTexas: $215,150 medianTXUtah: $174,590 medianUTVermont: no BLS estimateVTVirginia: no BLS estimateVAWashington: $229,900 medianWAWashington, D.C.: no BLS estimateWest Virginia: no BLS estimateWVWisconsin: no BLS estimateWIWyoming: no BLS estimateWY
Small states
Under $150K$150K to $200K$200K to $250K$250K to $300K$300K+No BLS estimate
GEORGIA · MAY 2025$618,090median annual wage, #1 of 37 with a figure
THE DETAIL$476,310 average · 8,770 jobsBureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Click or tap a state, or use Tab and Enter. These are wages paid in May 2025 to airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers, BLS occupation 53-2011. BLS counts straight-time pay, so overtime is not included. Small pilot counts make some state medians swing widely; several states have no published estimate.

All 37 state figures
Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers pay by state, May 2025
StateMedianAverageJobs
$618,090$476,3108,770
$507,640$361,180330
$428,570$330,480n/a
$353,900$310,19010,670
$350,950$302,3406,260
$307,490$290,8505,830
$293,490$316,1406,460
$255,240$298,2606,900
$232,140$249,4601,350
$229,900$298,5603,450
$227,870$236,5502,200
$225,020$254,4207,760
$215,150$275,71010,930
$211,470$256,7502,960
$204,170$222,5401,550
$199,870$282,16080
$192,460$204,4702,160
$174,590$214,1401,880
$173,190$209,040750
$171,260$200,950n/a
$168,970$152,980250
$164,990$172,5002,270
$164,880$186,56040
$151,540$148,5002,240
$147,930$195,68040
$143,580$163,07080
$143,580$151,890360
$143,580$150,970110
$143,580$142,700110
$136,990$155,520360
$136,990$141,57050
$133,680$144,000180
$131,730$144,660100
$131,650$156,45060
$120,740$144,220150
$99,280$151,79050
$97,680$110,610120

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 53-2011, from the BLS state data file downloaded October 27, 2026. Boundaries: US Census via us-atlas.

The 10 highest state medians in May 2025:

State Median wage, May 2025 Airline pilot jobs
Georgia $618,090 8,770
Idaho $507,640 330
Michigan $428,570 Not published
California $353,900 10,670
Kentucky $350,950 6,260
Colorado $307,490 5,830
Illinois $293,490 6,460
New York $255,240 6,900
Alaska $232,140 1,350
Washington $229,900 3,450

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Treat the state figures with care. Airline pilots live in one state and fly from bases in others, and many states have small samples: BLS published no median at all for 13 states and the District of Columbia, and Idaho's figure rests on 330 jobs. Georgia's $618,090 is the official estimate, but it is more than 2.5 times the national median and far above every other large state, so I would read it as an outlier rather than a typical Georgia salary.

The biggest pilot workforces are in Texas (10,930 jobs, $215,150), California (10,670, $353,900), Georgia (8,770), Florida (7,760, $225,020) and New York (6,900, $255,240). The lowest published medians were Missouri ($97,680) and New Hampshire ($99,280), both based on small counts.

Highest-paying cities for airline pilots

Metro area Median wage, May 2025 Airline pilot jobs
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA $618,090 8,700
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $374,680 2,900
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA $364,730 6,710
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN $350,950 3,330
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $335,270 10,030
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX $307,690 4,160
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO $307,490 5,600
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN $293,490 6,360
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $229,900 3,340
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ $228,040 2,100

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan areas with at least 1,500 airline pilot jobs and a published median.

These cities are airline crew bases and hubs. Among large pilot markets, Charlotte had the lowest median, $151,540, followed by Salt Lake City at $174,940.

Job outlook for pilots

BLS projects jobs for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, from 104,600 to 113,300, and commercial pilot jobs to grow 5%, from 50,400 to 53,000. Across both, it expects about 16,400 openings a year, many of them from retirements. Federal law requires airline pilots to retire at 65, according to BLS.

How to become an airline pilot

Every pilot crew on a scheduled airliner must hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, according to BLS. Federal rules require at least 1,500 hours of total flight time for an ATP in airplanes, with reduced hours allowed for some military and degree-program graduates, and a minimum age of 23, or 21 under the reduced-hours route. BLS says airline pilots typically also have a bachelor's degree and experience as a commercial or military pilot.

How I checked these numbers

Every pay and job figure comes from the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data files, which I downloaded on October 27, 2026, for occupations 53-2011 and 53-2012. Outlook figures come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, and certificate rules from the Code of Federal Regulations. BLS pay excludes per diem allowances and benefits.

Related reading

Sources & methodology

Observations retain their source, period and definition. Uncertainty is preserved; missing values are not zero.

  1. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: national, state and metropolitan area data files (BLS) ↗

    BLS

    Accessed 2026-10-25.

  2. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Airline and Commercial Pilots (BLS) ↗

    BLS

    Accessed 2026-10-27.

  3. 14 CFR 61.153, Airline transport pilot eligibility requirements (eCFR) ↗

    eCFR

    Accessed 2026-10-27.

  4. 14 CFR 61.159, Airline transport pilot aeronautical experience, airplane category (eCFR) ↗

    eCFR

    Accessed 2026-10-27.