Commercial Pilot Salary: What the BLS Data Shows
Commercial pilots earned a median of $123,220 in May 2025. See the percentile range, how pay differs from airline pilots, and what moves the number.
By the Salary Atlas editorial team · Published
The median commercial pilot in the United States earned $123,220 a year in May 2025, and the mean was $146,080, according to the O*NET wage page built on BLS data and BLS-based figures compiled by a flight training resource. The middle 50% of pilots in this group fall between roughly $84,540 and $190,440. That spread is wide because "commercial pilot" covers charter, air ambulance, air tour and many other kinds of flying, not just the airlines.
This guide explains what those numbers mean, where they come from, why the range is so large, and how to read them if you are choosing a career, advising someone who is, or setting pay for a flying job.
TL;DR
- The median annual wage for commercial pilots was $123,220 in May 2025. The mean was $146,080.
- The 10th percentile was $58,850 and the 90th percentile was $266,620, so where and how you fly matters more than the average.
- Commercial pilots and airline pilots are separate BLS occupations. Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers had a $232,140 median in May 2025.
- Pay depends on employer, aircraft, role, seniority, schedule and type of operation.
- BLS wage figures are annual estimates, so treat any single number as a benchmark, not a guarantee.
Table of Contents
- Commercial pilot salary at a glance
- Who counts as a commercial pilot in the data
- Commercial pilot pay vs. airline pilot pay
- Why the range runs from $58,850 to $266,620
- How to read a pilot salary number
- Is the figure for a new commercial pilot lower?
- Job outlook for commercial pilots
- What this means for different readers
- Perspective
- See the full pilot data on Salary Atlas
- FAQ
- Sources
Commercial pilot salary at a glance
Here are the national figures for BLS occupation 53-2012, Commercial Pilots, for May 2025.
| Measure | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $58,850 |
| 25th percentile | $84,540 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $123,220 |
| 75th percentile | $190,440 |
| 90th percentile | $266,620 |
| Mean (average) | $146,080 |
Two things stand out. First, the mean sits above the median by about $22,860. That gap tells you a group of high earners pulls the average up, which is why we lead with the median when someone asks what a typical pilot makes. Second, the top tenth of earners made more than four and a half times what the bottom tenth made. Few occupations spread that far.
What the hourly rate looks like
BLS reports commercial pilot wages as annual figures, so there is no published hourly median to quote for this occupation. If you want a rough hourly sense, divide the annual median by a full-time year of 2,080 hours: $123,220 comes to about $59 an hour. That is our own arithmetic, not a BLS figure, and it hides the fact that many pilots are paid by the flight hour, by the day, or on salary with a duty-day structure rather than a 40-hour week. Use it only to compare against jobs that are priced hourly.
Who counts as a commercial pilot in the data
The definition matters, because it decides which paychecks are in the number. O*NET describes this occupation as piloting fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters, and it requires a Commercial Pilot certificate. It includes charter pilots, air ambulance pilots and air tour pilots. It explicitly excludes regional, national and international airline pilots.
That last point is the one most searchers miss. When a headline says pilots earn more than $200,000, it usually means airline pilots, a different group with its own line in the BLS tables. Someone flying a medical helicopter, a corporate jet on charter, or a tour aircraft appears in the commercial pilot data instead.
The same occupation can include work such as charter, corporate, cargo feeder, tour, firefighting, survey, medical and instructional flying. A single median has to summarize all of it.
Commercial pilot pay vs. airline pilot pay
In May 2025, BLS data put the airline pilot, copilot and flight engineer median at $232,140 and the mean at $288,650, against $123,220 and $146,080 for commercial pilots, according to a summary of the BLS tables. The airline median is almost twice the commercial one.
| May 2025 | Commercial pilots | Airline pilots, copilots, flight engineers |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $123,220 | $232,140 |
| Mean annual wage | $146,080 | $288,650 |
If you are early in a flying career, the practical reading is that the commercial pilot figures describe the many jobs that sit before, beside or outside the airline track. They are not a forecast of what an airline career pays later.
Why the range runs from $58,850 to $266,620
No single factor explains a spread this wide. According to the research behind this guide, pay varies by employer, aircraft, experience, seniority, schedule, industry, captain or first-officer status, location, qualifications and type of operation. Here is how those play out.
Type of operation and industry
BLS industry medians for commercial pilots in May 2025 were $133,150 in nonscheduled air transportation, $129,610 in professional, scientific and technical services, $123,090 in support activities for air transportation, $100,330 in other ambulatory health care services, and $93,820 in private technical and trade schools, per BLS-based figures.
| Industry (May 2025) | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Nonscheduled air transportation | $133,150 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $129,610 |
| Support activities for air transportation | $123,090 |
| Other ambulatory health care services | $100,330 |
| Private technical and trade schools | $93,820 |
Role and seniority
A captain is paid more than a first officer on the same aircraft, and pilots who have been with an operator longer usually earn more than new hires. The median hides this because it blends every seat and every year of tenure. The 25th to 75th percentile band, $84,540 to $190,440, is a better picture of the realistic spread for working pilots than any single number.
Equipment and schedule
Larger and more complex aircraft generally carry higher pay, and schedules matter too. A pilot on a guaranteed monthly salary and a pilot paid only for flight hours can have the same annual figure but very different weeks. When you compare offers, compare the structure of pay, not just the headline.
Location
BLS publishes state and metro estimates for pilots, though small sample sizes in some areas can make local figures less stable. For pay in your own state, start with our average salary by state page, then check the occupation page for the specific job title.
How to read a pilot salary number
Wage data is easy to misread. These checks keep a figure useful.
- Check the occupation. Make sure the number is for commercial pilots (53-2012) or airline pilots, not a blend. Many articles mix them.
- Check the year. The latest BLS OEWS estimates covered here refer to May 2025. CareerOneStop's Salary Finder lists current data from the May 2025 estimates, and shows earlier May reference periods for comparison.
- Use the median first. The median is the point where half earn more and half earn less. The mean is useful, but high earners pull it up.
- Look at the percentiles. The 25th and 75th percentiles bracket the middle half of workers and are the most realistic range for planning.
- Remember what is left out. Wage estimates describe pay for a surveyed occupation. They are not a promise for any individual job, and they do not tell you about benefits, per diem, or the cost of getting certified.
Is the figure for a new commercial pilot lower?
BLS does not publish a number labeled as a starting commercial pilot salary, according to the same BLS-based summary. The closest national benchmark for the lower end is the 10th percentile, $58,850 in May 2025. That figure covers workers of every experience level and employer type, so it is not a guaranteed entry wage. Pilots early in their careers often work in lower-paying flying jobs such as instruction while building experience, which matches the lower industry median for private technical and trade schools.
Job outlook for commercial pilots
Demand also shapes pay. The BLS projects about 16,400 openings a year for airline and commercial pilots through 2035, most of them to replace people who leave the occupation. One US News overview of pilot careers notes BLS expectations that ambulance services will be a large growth area, as pilots are hired to transport patients to hospitals and other health care facilities, with 5.0% employment growth projected for pilots between 2023 and 2033.
Steady replacement openings and growth in specialized flying are the reasons many career advisors keep pilot careers on the list of well-paid options that do not require a four-year degree path in the traditional sense. Whether that fits a given student depends on certification costs and time, which are separate decisions from the pay data.
What this means for different readers
If you are a job seeker or student: use the percentile band, not the average, to set expectations. Look at the specific operation you want to fly in, since nonscheduled air transportation and medical flying have different medians. Then compare to the airline pilot occupation if that is your long-term plan. If you advise students or clients: the median of $123,220 is a fair talking point, with the caveat that the group is mixed. The 10th percentile of $58,850 is a reminder that early flying jobs can pay far less than the later ones. If you are an employer or HR professional: benchmark against the industry median for your type of operation, not the occupation-wide figure. A tour operator and a charter company draw from the same occupation but price pay differently. Our guide on using the 75th percentile in negotiation shows how to turn a percentile into a defensible offer.Perspective
Pilot pay is one of the clearest examples of why an average can mislead. A single figure for commercial pilots blends a flight instructor and a charter captain, two jobs that have little in common except a certificate.
That is why we publish the median, the mean and the percentiles together, and why every figure on Salary Atlas links back to the Bureau of Labor Statistics source it came from. We do not use self-reported or scraped numbers, and we do not estimate wages that BLS has not published. If a number is not in the federal data, we do not invent one.
Our advice is to read the percentile band first, then the industry, then the median. Anyone planning a flying career or setting a pay offer gets a more honest answer that way, and it costs nothing: no paywall, no signup.
Joelen Zyoktova
See the full pilot data on Salary Atlas
We publish sourced BLS wage data by job title, percentile, state and experience level, with a six-year trend and no paywall or signup. Every figure links to its origin so you can verify it yourself.
Start on the Salary Atlas home page to look up any occupation, or see how pay compares across states on our salary by state page. If you want to know how we collect and refresh the data, read our methodology. If you work around aviation, the air traffic controller and flight attendant pages show neighboring occupations.
FAQ
What is the average salary for a commercial pilot in the US?
The mean annual wage was $146,080 in May 2025, and the median was $123,220. The median is the better guide to a typical pilot because a group of high earners pulls the mean up. Half of commercial pilots earned less than the median and half earned more.
How much do commercial pilots make at the low and high ends?
In May 2025 the 10th percentile was $58,850 and the 90th percentile was $266,620, per the O*NET national wages page. The 25th percentile was $84,540 and the 75th was $190,440. Employer, aircraft, seniority and type of operation explain most of the gap.
Do commercial pilots earn less than airline pilots?
In the BLS data, yes. Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers had a median of $232,140 in May 2025, compared with $123,220 for commercial pilots. They are separate occupations with different employers, aircraft and pay structures, so one is not a direct forecast of the other.
How often is pilot salary data updated?
BLS publishes its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates on a regular cycle, and CareerOneStop describes the survey as semiannual, with its Salary Finder showing the May 2025 estimates. We refresh the figures on Salary Atlas annually.
Sources
- National Wages: 53-2012.00 - Commercial Pilots (O*NET OnLine)
- 53-2012.00 - Commercial Pilots summary (O*NET OnLine)
- Salary Finder (CareerOneStop)
- Commercial Pilot Salary (US Aviation Academy)
- Pilot Salary in 2026 (CFII.com)
- US Pilot Statistics 2026 (AirAdvisor)
- Pilot Overview (US News)
Recommended
Occupation wage figures on Salary Atlas come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures in this article that are not linked to a source are estimates. See our methodology.