Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

53-2012 Commercial Pilots

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Requires Commercial Pilot certificate. Includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots. Excludes regional, National, and international airline pilots.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Mean wage RSE (3)
37,870	2.9 %	(4)	$96,530	3.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Annual Wage (2)	$44,660	$61,950	$82,240	$115,280	$160,480

(4)

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nonscheduled Air Transportation	12,320	27.33	(4)	$94,450
Technical and Trade Schools	4,420	3.28	(4)	$86,480
Support Activities for Air Transportation	4,140	1.91	(4)	$96,610
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	3,890	1.26	(4)	$85,760
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	1,180	0.24	(4)	$122,530

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nonscheduled Air Transportation	12,320	27.33	(4)	$94,450
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other	680	22.37	(4)	$88,540
Technical and Trade Schools	4,420	3.28	(4)	$86,480
Support Activities for Air Transportation	4,140	1.91	(4)	$96,610
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	3,890	1.26	(4)	$85,760

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Support Activities for Water Transportation	140	0.15	(4)	$143,810
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	80	0.02	(4)	$142,360
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	170	0.02	(4)	$127,170
Scientific Research and Development Services	120	0.02	(4)	$126,790
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	(8)	(8)	(4)	$123,640

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Texas	4,800	0.40	1.51	(4)	$104,680
Florida	4,170	0.48	1.85	(4)	$110,540
California	3,380	0.20	0.76	(4)	$97,720
Ohio	1,740	0.32	1.23	(4)	$88,830
Arizona	1,410	0.51	1.93	(4)	$80,000

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	690	2.18	8.33	(4)	$91,850
North Dakota	370	0.89	3.39	(4)	$82,880
South Dakota	310	0.73	2.80	(4)	$63,090
Montana	330	0.71	2.70	(4)	$82,290
Delaware	280	0.63	2.40	(4)	$97,420

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Georgia	1,030	0.24	0.90	(4)	$130,760
Connecticut	310	0.19	0.71	(4)	$127,950
New York	1,020	0.11	0.41	(4)	$127,590
Florida	4,170	0.48	1.85	(4)	$110,540
Maryland	330	0.12	0.47	(4)	$110,240

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,840	0.80	3.04	(4)	$109,130
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	1,890	0.73	2.79	(8)	(8)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	1,510	0.25	0.94	(4)	$102,070
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,010	0.11	0.41	(8)	(8)
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	960	0.47	1.79	(4)	$82,230
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	810	0.66	2.53	(4)	$80,830
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	690	0.35	1.32	(4)	$126,200
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	560	0.12	0.46	(4)	$107,640
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	540	0.37	1.40	(4)	$94,930
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	530	0.27	1.02	(4)	$80,000

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Houma-Thibodaux, LA	320	3.77	14.41	(4)	$76,290
Savannah, GA	400	2.26	8.63	(4)	$126,330
Anchorage, AK	380	2.20	8.39	(4)	$92,150
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL	90	1.78	6.79	(8)	(8)
Pueblo, CO	100	1.73	6.63	(4)	$84,530
Flagstaff, AZ	100	1.68	6.41	(4)	$66,450
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	310	1.59	6.08	(4)	$59,770
Ann Arbor, MI	330	1.50	5.75	(4)	$72,590
Grand Forks, ND-MN	60	1.27	4.86	(4)	$69,460
Sioux Falls, SD	190	1.24	4.73	(4)	$63,380

Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	60	0.75	2.87	(4)	$128,600
Savannah, GA	400	2.26	8.63	(4)	$126,330
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	690	0.35	1.32	(4)	$126,200
Bakersfield, CA	100	0.33	1.28	(4)	$120,550
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO	40	0.18	0.68	(4)	$119,660
Spartanburg, SC	(8)	(8)	(8)	(4)	$115,310
Lake Charles, LA	110	0.95	3.64	(4)	$113,190
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	(8)	(8)	(8)	(4)	$112,350