Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Median $232,140
Occupation · SOC 53-2012
Commercial Pilots: pay and where the jobs are
What commercial pilots earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$123,220 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $146,080
- Hourly wages
- BLS publishes annual wages only
- Employment
- 47,630
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 53-2012.
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See where your pay falls among commercial pilots nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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How much do commercial pilots make?
The median annual wage for commercial pilots was $123,220 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $58,850 and the highest-paid 10% more than $266,620. About 47,630 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Connecticut ($232,160), New Jersey ($226,710) and New York ($177,430). Connecticut also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for commercial pilots looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $58,850 | — | $4,904 | $4,122 |
| 25th percentile | $84,540 | — | $7,045 | $5,692 |
| Median | $123,220 | — | $10,268 | $7,957 |
| 75th percentile | $190,440 | — | $15,870 | $11,786 |
| 90th percentile | $266,620 | — | $22,218 | $15,800 |
Commercial Pilots: pay by state
49 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$149,640 take-home in national prices
2
$140,026 take-home in national prices
3
$118,912 take-home in national prices
Where a median commercial pilot paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 460 | $232,160 | $86,840 | $321,270 | $155,042 | $149,640 |
| New Jersey | 670 | $226,710 | $52,560 | $326,930 | $152,355 | $140,026 |
| New York | 1,070 | $177,430 | $63,080 | $297,680 | $122,668 | $113,665 |
| California | 4,900 | $165,590 | $63,890 | $500,170 | $111,139 | $100,379 |
| Delaware | 220 | $163,600 | $83,180 | $264,590 | $112,976 | $113,193 |
| Ohio | 2,680 | $150,330 | $60,300 | $219,140 | $110,319 | $118,912 |
| Georgia | 1,020 | $145,100 | $53,010 | $247,410 | $103,950 | $107,952 |
| Colorado | 1,240 | $139,680 | $59,780 | $269,630 | $100,685 | $97,703 |
| Texas | 4,120 | $137,960 | $68,460 | $259,990 | $105,562 | $108,763 |
| Vermont | 40 | $137,810 | $56,820 | $233,150 | $98,848 | $100,908 |
| Pennsylvania | 530 | $134,030 | $74,610 | $263,290 | $98,667 | $101,122 |
| North Dakota | 370 | $133,010 | $65,630 | $237,050 | $100,844 | $113,360 |
| Maryland | 360 | $131,210 | $58,070 | $229,430 | $94,895 | $90,412 |
| Kentucky | 800 | $129,990 | $83,130 | $355,390 | $95,682 | $106,126 |
| Wisconsin | 1,090 | $129,860 | $66,390 | $269,990 | $93,825 | $99,713 |
| North Carolina | 1,520 | $127,310 | $61,050 | $243,090 | $93,711 | $99,348 |
| Michigan | 1,390 | $126,670 | $58,280 | $205,900 | $92,712 | $96,357 |
| Oklahoma | 540 | $126,180 | $75,880 | $220,610 | $92,377 | $105,162 |
| Illinois | 1,170 | $126,100 | $51,890 | $376,830 | $91,358 | $91,397 |
| Florida | 6,340 | $121,890 | $62,590 | $229,110 | $94,578 | $91,456 |
| Oregon | 670 | $120,760 | $50,960 | $307,900 | $83,833 | $81,107 |
| Washington | 890 | $117,730 | $70,420 | $314,200 | $90,020 | $84,121 |
| Maine | 100 | $117,560 | $73,310 | $252,760 | $84,332 | $86,896 |
| Tennessee | 1,030 | $117,480 | $54,740 | $204,650 | $91,477 | $99,572 |
| Hawaii | 350 | $113,030 | $58,470 | $214,630 | $81,170 | $73,824 |
| Idaho | 310 | $109,620 | $64,300 | $209,320 | $81,246 | $85,080 |
| West Virginia | 40 | $105,950 | $64,450 | $174,170 | $79,402 | $88,721 |
| South Carolina | 290 | $105,740 | $49,720 | $164,920 | $78,675 | $83,921 |
| Kansas | 680 | $105,440 | $49,060 | $175,820 | $77,923 | $86,516 |
| Nevada | 1,100 | $105,340 | $51,350 | $211,260 | $82,937 | $82,954 |
| Virginia | 1,130 | $104,890 | $55,310 | $228,970 | $77,403 | $76,558 |
| Nebraska | 290 | $104,780 | $53,710 | $167,450 | $78,655 | $87,294 |
| Indiana | 960 | $104,160 | $63,250 | $221,260 | $79,063 | $84,715 |
| Montana | 330 | $103,690 | $73,440 | $226,770 | $77,278 | $81,651 |
| Mississippi | 240 | $103,640 | $71,050 | $215,010 | $78,327 | $90,080 |
| Arizona | 1,540 | $103,060 | $64,290 | $201,660 | $79,150 | $78,618 |
| Missouri | 670 | $102,990 | $50,790 | $212,000 | $77,380 | $85,205 |
| Wyoming | 190 | $102,990 | $59,990 | $140,320 | $81,283 | $87,693 |
| Iowa | 300 | $101,800 | $77,790 | $199,340 | $77,230 | $87,999 |
| Alabama | 780 | $101,420 | $57,030 | $163,100 | $76,022 | $85,588 |
| Alaska | 1,000 | $100,120 | $49,610 | $163,410 | $78,993 | $77,173 |
| Utah | 540 | $99,610 | $60,060 | $175,000 | $74,473 | $75,329 |
| Rhode Island | 80 | $98,820 | $51,360 | $273,060 | $74,171 | $72,517 |
| Minnesota | 910 | $98,630 | $42,670 | $261,800 | $72,599 | $73,614 |
| New Mexico | 370 | $97,920 | $34,680 | $219,010 | $74,250 | $80,520 |
| Louisiana | 910 | $95,940 | $46,990 | $169,410 | $73,832 | $83,703 |
| Arkansas | 460 | $94,410 | $43,290 | $171,500 | $72,242 | $83,097 |
| South Dakota | 320 | $83,710 | $51,590 | $157,840 | $67,720 | $76,445 |
| Puerto Rico | 70 | $81,070 | $51,230 | $133,930 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 53-2012. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.