Last updated 28 September 2026. Official figures on this page come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics release of May 2025, the most recent available. We update this page when BLS publishes new data, and the date above changes with it.
Pilot pay is one of the most searched questions in aviation because the range is genuinely enormous. A regional first officer in their first year and a senior widebody captain are doing recognisably the same job for a difference of several hundred thousand dollars. This page separates what is officially measured from what is industry estimate, because most salary guides quietly blend the two.
Official US figures
These are measured wages, not estimates. Note that BLS reports airline pilots and commercial pilots as two separate occupations, and the gap between them is large. Guides that quote a single “pilot salary” figure are usually blending the two.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers | $232,140 | May 2025 | US Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Commercial pilots | $123,220 | May 2025 | US Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Commercial pilot covers charter, air taxi, survey, agricultural and similar flying. Airline pilot covers scheduled carriers. Someone flying a King Air for a charter operator and someone flying a 787 for a legacy carrier both hold commercial certificates, and BLS counts them in different buckets.
Employment outlook
| Measure | Figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected employment growth | 7 percent | 2025 to 2035 | BLS |
| Additional positions | 11,300 | 2025 to 2035 | BLS |
| Annual openings, including replacement | about 16,400 | per year, 2025 to 2035 | BLS |
BLS describes that growth as much faster than the average across all occupations. Most of the annual openings come from retirements rather than expansion, which matters because the retirement wave is driven by a fixed age limit and is therefore more predictable than hiring driven by demand.
Pay by career stage
These are industry estimates, not official data. No government body publishes median pay by airline seniority step. The ranges below reflect published contract scales and widely reported figures, and they move with each bargaining cycle. Treat them as orientation, not as a quote.
| Stage | Typical annual range | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Regional first officer | $50,000 to $90,000 | Carrier, year of service, and how hard the hiring market is running |
| Regional captain | $100,000 to $150,000 | Upgrade timing, which is a seniority question |
| Major or legacy first officer | $120,000 to $220,000 | Rises quickly with seniority and aircraft type |
| Major or legacy captain | $250,000 to $400,000 and above | Widebody equipment at the top of the seniority list |
How to read any pilot salary figure
A method note, because these numbers get quoted carelessly.
- Median is not typical for a given person. It is the midpoint across everyone counted, blending first officers and captains at very different seniority.
- Base pay is not total pay. Per diem, overtime, premium trips and profit sharing can add a large amount, and none of it appears in a headline figure.
- Tax treatment changes everything in cross border comparisons. A tax free Gulf package and a US salary with federal and state tax are not comparable at face value.
- Contract dates matter more than the year. A single new union contract can move an entire airline’s scale more than a decade of gradual change.
- Hourly, not salaried. Most airline pilots are paid per flight hour against a guaranteed monthly minimum, so a heavy month pays more.
Pay by country
Pay structures, tax treatment and cost of living vary enormously by region. Gulf carriers in particular advertise tax free salaries that look very different once you compare take home pay rather than the headline.
- Pilot salary in the UAE, what Emirates, Etihad and Flydubai actually pay
- Pilot salary in Qatar, Qatar Airways captain and first officer pay
- Pilot salary in Saudi Arabia, including the Riyadh Air scales
- Pilot salary in India
- Pilot salary in Pakistan
- Pilot salary in Bangladesh
Pay by US state
Within the United States, pay varies with cost of living, which carriers keep bases in that state, and local demand.
- Pilot salary in California
- Pilot salary in Texas
- Pilot salary in Florida
- Pilot salary in New York
- Pilot salary in Georgia
Military and specialty pay
Military pilot pay runs on a completely different structure, set by rank and years of service rather than seniority at one employer. Our Air Force pilot salary guide breaks down the pay scale, and the Thunderbird pilot pay guide covers what demonstration team pilots earn on top of base military pay. Navy carrier aviators follow a similar rank based scale with flight pay and bonuses that scale with aviation service.
What actually determines how much a pilot earns
- Seniority. The single biggest factor. Pay, schedule and aircraft assignment at almost every airline come off a seniority list, not performance.
- Aircraft type. Widebody long haul pays considerably more per hour than narrowbody domestic flying.
- Airline business model. Legacy carriers with mature union contracts generally pay more than ultra low cost carriers, which compete partly on crew cost.
- Union contracts. A new agreement can shift an entire airline’s scale within one bargaining cycle.
Improving your earning potential
If you are still working toward a cockpit career, the biggest lever is getting hired sooner and at the right carrier. Our guide to what flight school costs and how people pay for it cover the front end, and the airline pilot interview guide covers the hiring process itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median pilot salary?
$232,140 for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers, and $123,220 for commercial pilots, both as of May 2025 per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those are two separate occupations and should not be averaged together.
What is the highest pilot salary?
Senior widebody captains at major legacy airlines and some Gulf carriers can reach $350,000 to $400,000 or more once per diem, premium trips and contractual bonuses are included. That is the top of a seniority list, not a starting point.
Do pilots get paid during training?
Rarely during initial flight training, which candidates normally fund themselves. Airline cadet programmes are the exception and sometimes pay a stipend while you build hours.
Is pilot pay hourly or salaried?
Most airline pilots are paid per flight hour against a guaranteed monthly minimum, so a heavier schedule pays more in a given month. Annual earnings are still set mainly by seniority and rank.
How fast is pilot employment growing?
BLS projects 7 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, about 11,300 additional positions, with roughly 16,400 openings a year once retirements are counted.
Sources and updates
Official wage and employment figures are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 release. Career stage ranges are industry estimates compiled from published contract scales and are labelled as such above.
If you are citing this page, cite the BLS figures to BLS and the stage ranges to CrewDaily as estimates. We would rather be quoted accurately than widely.
