Pay for airline pilots in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
Airline pilots earn a median of $232,140 a year, 355.4% more than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in Georgia ($618,090) and lowest in Missouri ($97,680). The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts them as “Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers” (occupation code 53-2011).
Half of the 103,560 airline pilots in the survey earn between $182,280 and $384,440. The bottom tenth earn under $106,710, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $463,830. The average is $288,650; it sits above the median because the top earners pull it up.
| Nationally | Per year |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $106,710 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $182,280 |
| Median | $232,140 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $384,440 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $463,830 |
The survey publishes no hourly pay for airline pilots, because the job is not usually worked as a full, year-round 2,080 hours; the yearly figures are what they are paid. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in Georgia ($618,090), Idaho ($507,640), Michigan ($428,570), California ($353,900) and Kentucky ($350,950). The lowest are in Missouri ($97,680), New Hampshire ($99,280), Louisiana ($120,740), Nebraska ($131,650) and Iowa ($131,730). The survey does not publish a figure for 14 states, usually because too few people do the job there.
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in Georgia ($641,885 at national prices), Idaho ($531,594), Michigan ($445,420), Kentucky ($389,257) and California ($319,635).
The most airline pilots work in Texas (10,930), California (10,670) and Georgia (8,770). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in Alaska (4.1 per 1,000 jobs), Kentucky (3.1) and Colorado (2.0).
On the national median of $232,140, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $171,457 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $6,594 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $73,138 in Missouri to $383,617 in Georgia. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 10.2% of an airline pilot's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in all 37 states. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single airline pilot earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 35 of the 37 states, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $704,731. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $136,990 | — | −41.0% | $154,228 | $98,089 | 12.0% | 360 |
| Alaska | $232,140 | — | 0.0% | $226,790 | $171,457 | 9.4% | 1,350 |
| Arizona | $227,870 | — | −1.8% | $226,338 | $162,957 | 8.8% | 2,200 |
| Arkansas | $168,970 | — | −27.2% | $194,359 | $120,872 | 7.8% | 250 |
| California | $353,900 | — | +52.5% | $319,635 | $219,594 | 8.3% | 10,670 |
| Colorado | $307,490 | — | +32.5% | $298,383 | $206,340 | 7.9% | 5,830 |
| Connecticut | $199,870 | — | −13.9% | $192,906 | $138,088 | 12.0% | 80 |
| Delaware | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Florida | $225,020 | — | −3.1% | $217,591 | $166,783 | 10.2% | 7,760 |
| Georgia | $618,090 | — | +166.3% | $641,885 | $383,617 | 3.3% | 8,770 |
| Hawaii | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Idaho | $507,640 | — | +118.7% | $531,594 | $318,358 | 3.6% | 330 |
| Illinois | $293,490 | — | +26.4% | $293,613 | $196,570 | 4.9% | 6,460 |
| Indiana | $171,260 | — | −26.2% | $183,501 | $123,270 | 8.3% | — |
| Iowa | $131,730 | — | −43.3% | $150,099 | $96,298 | 9.4% | 100 |
| Kansas | $143,580 | — | −38.1% | $159,413 | $101,479 | 10.6% | 80 |
| Kentucky | $350,950 | — | +51.2% | $389,257 | $234,814 | 4.3% | 6,260 |
| Louisiana | $120,740 | — | −48.0% | $136,883 | $90,148 | 13.3% | 150 |
| Maine | $147,930 | — | −36.3% | $152,427 | $102,319 | 13.4% | 40 |
| Maryland | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Massachusetts | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2,240 |
| Michigan | $428,570 | — | +84.6% | $445,420 | $277,512 | 3.8% | — |
| Minnesota | $211,470 | — | −8.9% | $214,427 | $142,240 | 7.3% | 2,960 |
| Mississippi | $143,580 | — | −38.1% | $165,124 | $104,060 | 12.1% | 360 |
| Missouri | $97,680 | — | −57.9% | $107,557 | $73,138 | 15.8% | 120 |
| Montana | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nebraska | $131,650 | — | −43.3% | $146,111 | $95,560 | 11.8% | 60 |
| Nevada | $192,460 | — | −17.1% | $192,500 | $143,306 | 11.3% | 2,160 |
| New Hampshire | $99,280 | — | −57.2% | $95,310 | $78,673 | 25.1% | 50 |
| New Jersey | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Mexico | $136,990 | — | −41.0% | $148,560 | $98,728 | 12.9% | 50 |
| New York | $255,240 | — | +10.0% | $236,506 | $171,753 | 7.3% | 6,900 |
| North Carolina | $151,540 | — | −34.7% | $160,656 | $108,797 | 12.8% | 2,240 |
| North Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ohio | $204,170 | — | −12.0% | $220,072 | $147,100 | 7.6% | 1,550 |
| Oklahoma | $133,680 | — | −42.4% | $152,181 | $96,835 | 11.4% | 180 |
| Oregon | $173,190 | — | −25.4% | $167,558 | $114,252 | 11.9% | 750 |
| Pennsylvania | $164,990 | — | −28.9% | $169,096 | $118,971 | 9.5% | 2,270 |
| Rhode Island | $164,880 | — | −29.0% | $161,205 | $116,950 | 17.9% | 40 |
| South Carolina | $143,580 | — | −38.1% | $153,154 | $102,888 | 12.7% | 110 |
| South Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | $143,580 | — | −38.1% | $156,286 | $109,403 | 12.4% | 110 |
| Texas | $215,150 | — | −7.3% | $221,674 | $160,085 | 8.2% | 10,930 |
| Utah | $174,590 | — | −24.8% | $176,596 | $122,829 | 12.0% | 1,880 |
| Vermont | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington | $229,900 | — | −1.0% | $214,834 | $169,986 | 9.5% | 3,450 |
| West Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | — | — | — | — | — | — | 80 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Warehouse Laborer $40,240 · Stocker $37,330 · Truck Driver $58,640 · Delivery Driver $44,860 · Forklift Operator $46,420 · School Bus Driver $47,920 · Flight Attendant $63,580