How much do commercial pilots make?

Commercial Pilot salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Commercial Pilots (SOC 53-2012) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Commercial pilots in the US earned a median of $123,220 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $84,540 to $190,440.

Median annual pay: $123,220; Mean $146,080
Median hourly pay: Annual only; BLS publishes annual pay only for this occupation
Typical range (10th–90th): $58.9K–$267K; $58,850 to $266,620
US jobs: 47,630; +5.2% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a commercial pilot: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Connecticut

Commercial Pilot pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$58,850
25th percentile$84,540
Median$123,220
75th percentile$190,440
90th percentile$266,620

Half of all commercial pilots earned more than $123,220 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $58,850; the top 10% made over $266,620. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $84,540 to $190,440.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$58,850	—	$4,904
25th	$84,540	—	$7,045
Median (50th)	$123,220	—	$10,268
75th	$190,440	—	$15,870
90th	$266,620	—	$22,218
Mean (average)	$146,080	—	$12,173

Commercial Pilot salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for commercial pilots by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. Connecticut $232,160
2. New Jersey $226,710
3. New York $177,430
4. California $165,590
5. Delaware $163,600

Lowest-paying states

48. South Dakota $83,710
47. Arkansas $94,410
46. Louisiana $95,940
45. New Mexico $97,920
44. Minnesota $98,630

Best after cost of living: Connecticut. Its median of $232,160 is worth about $224,071 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$101,420	40	$114,182	30	—	780	0.37
Alaska	$100,120	41	$97,813	46	—	1,000	3.08
Arizona	$103,060	36	$102,367	43	—	1,540	0.47
Arkansas	$94,410	47	$108,596	38	—	460	0.35
California	$165,590	4	$149,557	7	—	4,900	0.27
Colorado	$139,680	8	$135,543	15	—	1,240	0.43
Connecticut	$232,160	1	$224,071	1	—	460	0.27
Delaware	$163,600	5	$163,915	4	—	220	0.46
District of Columbia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Florida	$121,890	20	$117,866	24	—	6,340	0.64
Georgia	$145,100	7	$150,686	6	—	1,020	0.21
Hawaii	$113,030	25	$102,800	42	—	350	0.56
Idaho	$109,620	26	$114,793	29	—	310	0.36
Illinois	$126,100	19	$126,153	19	—	1,170	0.19
Indiana	$104,160	33	$111,605	33	—	960	0.30
Iowa	$101,800	39	$115,996	28	—	300	0.19
Kansas	$105,440	29	$117,067	25	—	680	0.47
Kentucky	$129,990	14	$144,179	9	—	800	0.40
Louisiana	$95,940	46	$108,767	37	—	910	0.47
Maine	$117,560	23	$121,133	21	—	100	0.15
Maryland	$131,210	13	$125,011	20	—	360	0.13
Massachusetts	—	—	—	—	—	160	0.04
Michigan	$126,670	17	$131,650	17	—	1,390	0.32
Minnesota	$98,630	44	$100,009	45	—	910	0.31
Mississippi	$103,640	35	$119,191	22	—	240	0.20
Missouri	$102,990	37	$113,404	31	—	670	0.23
Montana	$103,690	34	$109,557	36	—	330	0.65
Nebraska	$104,780	32	$116,289	27	—	290	0.29
Nevada	$105,340	30	$105,362	40	—	1,100	0.71
New Hampshire	—	—	—	—	—	440	0.64
New Jersey	$226,710	2	$208,364	2	—	670	0.16
New Mexico	$97,920	45	$106,190	39	—	370	0.43
New York	$177,430	3	$164,407	3	—	1,070	0.11
North Carolina	$127,310	16	$134,968	16	—	1,520	0.31
North Dakota	$133,010	12	$149,518	8	—	370	0.86
Ohio	$150,330	6	$162,039	5	—	2,680	0.48
Oklahoma	$126,180	18	$143,643	10	—	540	0.32
Oregon	$120,760	21	$116,833	26	—	670	0.34
Pennsylvania	$134,030	11	$137,365	14	—	530	0.09
Rhode Island	$98,820	43	$96,617	47	—	80	0.16
South Carolina	$105,740	28	$112,791	32	—	290	0.13
South Dakota	$83,710	48	$94,496	48	—	320	0.71
Tennessee	$117,480	24	$127,876	18	—	1,030	0.32
Texas	$137,960	9	$142,143	11	—	4,120	0.29
Utah	$99,610	42	$100,755	44	—	540	0.31
Vermont	$137,810	10	$140,683	12	—	40	0.12
Virginia	$104,890	31	$103,745	41	—	1,130	0.27
Washington	$117,730	22	$110,015	35	—	890	0.25
West Virginia	$105,950	27	$118,384	23	—	40	0.06
Wisconsin	$129,860	15	$138,009	13	—	1,090	0.37
Wyoming	$102,990	38	$111,111	34	—	190	0.67

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (3 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for commercial pilots

156 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$315,450	$316,152	130
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$280,630	$256,466	50
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$274,730	$254,889	130
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$232,600	$217,660	90
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$225,900	$200,688	1,210
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$211,350	$205,701	100
Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$205,700	$199,360	50
Midland, TX	$198,480	$207,218	50
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	$193,940	$208,372	430
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$177,730	$183,346	420

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	3,440	$127,360	$111,568
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,980	—	—
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,810	$160,160	$155,359
Columbus, OH	1,410	$175,690	$184,028
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	1,210	$225,900	$200,688
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	1,020	$105,770	$102,375
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	940	$105,340	$105,114
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	840	$157,420	$151,957
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	790	$131,420	$133,247
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	710	$132,810	$125,551

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves commercial pilot pay: employers and settings

The type of flying sets most of the pay. Nonscheduled air transportation, mostly charter operators and the biggest employer with 18,580 jobs, pays a median of $133,150. Corporate flight departments, counted under management of companies and enterprises, pay the most at $173,460. Flight schools pay the least, a median of $93,650. Air ambulance and other ambulatory health care flying pays $100,330 and airport support businesses $123,090.

Aircraft size and certificate level matter too. Jet and larger multiengine charter work usually needs more hours, an instrument rating and often an airline transport pilot certificate, while entry-level instructing and tour flying need only the commercial certificate. Across all these jobs, pay runs from $58,850, the 10th percentile, to $266,620, the 90th; those percentiles describe the spread of pay, not steps in a career.

Location follows corporate and charter flying. Connecticut leads with a median of $232,160, followed by New Jersey at $226,710, New York at $177,430, California at $165,590, and Delaware. Connecticut is still first after living costs ($224,071 adjusted). South Dakota is lowest at $83,710.

Where commercial pilots work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Nonscheduled Air Transportation	39%	$133,150
Technical and Trade Schools	12.6%	$93,650
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	10.8%	$100,330
Support Activities for Air Transportation	8.8%	$123,090
Management of Companies and Enterprises	2.9%	$173,460
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	1.9%	$101,420

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	46,310	$124,200
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	690	$100,650
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	610	$100,810

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Commercial Pilot pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$123K $76.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $76,150 in 2015 to $123,220 in 2025, up 62% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $102,940 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 20% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What commercial pilots do

A commercial pilot flies people or cargo for pay, but not on a scheduled airline route. The work covers charter flights, corporate jets that carry company executives, air ambulance airplanes and helicopters, aerial tours, crop dusting, firefighting, banner towing, pipeline and power-line patrol, and flight instruction. Airline captains and first officers are counted in a separate occupation, airline pilot.

The largest group works for on-demand charter operators. Others teach at flight schools, fly medical transport for hospital programs and air ambulance companies, or work at airport service businesses and corporate flight departments. A charter pilot or helicopter pilot often handles more than flying: planning the trip, checking weather, loading bags, arranging fuel and maintenance, and greeting passengers. Most fly small crews of one or two pilots and work closely with dispatchers, mechanics, air traffic controllers and, on medical flights, flight nurses and paramedics. Most commercial pilots sleep at home, but on-call shifts, early departures and night flights are common, and low-level helicopter and agricultural work carries real risk.

A typical day

Check weather, airport conditions and fuel needs, then file a flight plan
Walk around and inspect the aircraft and its logbooks before the first flight
Work out weight and balance and confirm cargo and bags are loaded and secured
Fly the trip, talking with air traffic control and watching engines and fuel burn
Fly by instruments alone when clouds or darkness hide the ground
Teach students in the airplane and on the ground, if working as a flight instructor
Log flight time, report problems to mechanics and keep records the FAA requires

Also called: charter pilot, helicopter pilot, corporate pilot, captain, check airman, commercial helicopter pilot, ems helicopter pilot (emergency medical service helicopter pilot), first officer.

How to become a commercial pilot

Full guide

To become a commercial pilot, earn an FAA private pilot certificate, then an instrument rating, then a commercial pilot certificate, which requires at least 250 hours of flight time in airplanes (150 in helicopters), a second-class medical certificate and passing a knowledge test and checkride. Most people take about 1 to 4 years depending on how often they fly and whether they train within a college degree.

Typical time: 2-4 years (part-time training or a college aviation degree); Fastest: About 1 to 2 years of full-time flight training
Minimum education: No degree required; FAA pilot training with a certificated flight instructor or an FAA-approved (Part 141) flight school
License: Federal license: an FAA commercial pilot certificate is required nationwide; states do not license pilots
Typical training cost: $9.8K–$129K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a commercial pilot: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 2-4 years (part-time training or a college aviation degree); Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $9.8K–$129K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $123,220; $72,240 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 8–104%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($72,240 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 1.8 years after training ends (2-4 years (part-time training or a college aviation degree) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for commercial pilots

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +5.2%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 50,400; 53,000 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 5,200; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 2%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects commercial pilot jobs to grow 5.2% from 2025 to 2035, from 50,400 to 53,000, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. Continued demand for private charter flights drives most of that growth. There will be about 5,200 openings a year, and many come from turnover rather than new jobs: flight instructors and charter pilots often leave for airline jobs once they reach the required hours, and others retire. That steady movement keeps entry-level instructing and charter seats opening up for new pilots.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Commercial Pilot salary FAQ

Which state pays commercial pilots the most?

Connecticut has the highest median pay for commercial pilots, $232,160 a year, followed by New Jersey ($226,710) and New York ($177,430). After adjusting for each state's price level, Connecticut comes out ahead at about $224,071 in national-average dollars.

Do commercial pilots make $200,000 a year?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 10% and 25% of commercial pilots earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $123,220, and the top 10% earn more than $266,620. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What do commercial pilots make when they start?

BLS does not publish pay by years of experience. The lowest-paid 10% of commercial pilots earn less than $58,850 a year and the lowest-paid quarter less than $84,540. New workers are often in the lower part of the range, but percentiles also reflect location, employer and hours, not only experience.

What is the difference between a commercial pilot and an airline pilot?

Both hold FAA pilot certificates, but they do different flying. Commercial pilots fly unscheduled work such as charters, corporate trips, air ambulance, tours, crop dusting and instruction, with a commercial pilot certificate as the minimum. Airline pilots fly scheduled passenger and cargo routes, and every pilot in an airline crew needs an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, which takes 1,500 hours for airplanes in most cases.

Can a commercial pilot fly charter flights?

Yes, but the commercial certificate alone is not enough to be captain on most charters. Under FAA Part 135 rules, a pilot in command on a charter needs at least 500 hours to fly in good-weather (VFR) conditions and 1,200 hours to fly on instrument flight plans, and larger or jet aircraft require an ATP certificate. Many new commercial pilots start as first officers or instructors.

Do commercial pilots need a college degree?

No. The FAA does not require a degree for any pilot certificate. BLS notes that some employers prefer or require one, and a degree matters more if you plan to move to a major airline later. Many pilots train at a stand-alone flight school, while others earn a 2- or 4-year aviation degree that includes flight training.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 53-2012
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (53-2012.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Airline and Commercial Pilots, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR 61.109 and 61.65: private pilot and instrument rating aeronautical experience, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR 61.23: medical certificates, requirement and duration, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR Part 61 Subpart F: commercial pilots (61.123, 61.129, 61.133), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR Part 141 Appendix D: commercial pilot certification course, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR 61.183: flight instructor eligibility, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR 135.243 and 61.159: charter pilot-in-command and ATP experience, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) · checked October 28, 2026
14 CFR Part 141 Appendix B: private pilot certification course, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) · checked October 28, 2026
Aviation Program Costs, South Dakota State University · checked October 28, 2026

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