Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Salary in the US
A airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earns a national median of $232,140 a year (mean $288,650) — BLS OEWS May 2025, ranked #21 of 825.
How much does a airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earn in the US?
A airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in the United States earns a median of $232,140 a year (mean $288,650), per BLS OEWS May 2025. That is 355% above the US all-occupations median of $50,980. About 103,560 people work in this occupation (SOC 53-2011), ranked #21 of 825 by national median pay. Updated annually from BLS OEWS.
Median
$232,140
per year
Mean
$288,650
per year
Employment
103,560
US workers
National rank
#21
of 825 by median
What a airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earns in the US
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025 national estimates, a airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers (SOC 53-2011) earns a median annual wage of $232,140 and a mean (average) of $288,650. The median is the midpoint — half of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earn more and half earn less — and is 355% above the US all-occupations median of $50,980. The mean is higher than the median when a minority of very high earners pull the average up.
Note: BLS top-codes any annual wage at or above $239,200/year, so occupations at that ceiling share the same figure.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average salary for a airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in the US?
- The BLS OEWS May 2025 national annual median wage for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers is $232,140, and the mean (average) is $288,650. The median is the midpoint — half of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earn more and half earn less.
- How does airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers pay compare to the US average?
- At $232,140, a airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earns 355% above the US all-occupations median of $50,980 (BLS OEWS May 2025). The all-occupations US median is $50,980.
- How many airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are employed in the US?
- BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates about 103,560 airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers employed nationally (SOC 53-2011), across all industries.
- Where does this airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers salary data come from?
- From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 national release — cross-industry, all-ownership estimates, SOC code 53-2011. As US federal government work it is public domain. GeraJobs publishes the figures verbatim; suppressed cells are shown as "—", never estimated.
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Find airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers jobs with salary ranges
GeraJobs lists live US vacancies with employer-stated salary ranges — see which airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers roles pay above the BLS benchmark.
Data source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) · May 2025 national estimates · SOC 53-2011 · Public domain (U.S. federal government work)
Published verbatim by GeraJobs. Last updated: 2026-06-27. ← All US salaries