Pilot salary
What a pilot actually earns, from 334 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-07-23.
Switch the market above to see pilot pay in the 2 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
A pilot earns a blended US median near 106,200 dollars, with the typical middle running from 83,187 dollars to 109,300 dollars. The official OEWS median is higher, 226,600 dollars, because job ads skew toward the roles that pay below the occupation-wide average. The official trend has moved up about 54 percent since 2019. Demand is rated high, and 6% of postings are fully remote. The nearest adjacent move on our skill graph is human factors engineer, at 46 percent coverage; the instrument maps the rest.
Open pilot roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- SUPERVISORY MAINTENANCE TEST PILOTArmy National Guard Units · Davenport, Iowa$111k–$144kJul 14
- AIRCRAFT PILOTArmy National Guard Units · Cheyenne, Wyoming$111k–$144kJul 8
- MAINTENANCE TEST PILOT (C-130 AIRCRAFT)Naval Air Systems Command · Kinston, North Carolina$90k–$116kJul 8
- SUPERVISORY MAINTENANCE TEST PILOTNaval Air Systems Command · Kinston, North Carolina$106k–$138kJul 6
- Manager of Engineering - Autonomous Pilot Integration - Emerging Domains (R5176)Shieldai · United States$220k–$330kJun 12
- Manager of Engineering - Autonomous Pilot Integration - Expeditionary (R5175)Shieldai · United States$220k–$330kJun 12
By country
- United States$83,187 – $109,300 · median $106,200
- United Kingdom$49,136 – $80,059 · median $73,674
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Floridamedian $220,350
- Texasmedian $214,670
- North Carolinamedian $154,360
- Iowamedian $130,980
- Oklahomamedian $130,620
- Wyomingmedian $46,070
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Related salaries
- Human Factors Engineer salary$128,164 median
- Professor / Lecturer salary$76,091 median
- Aerospace Engineer salary$130,007 median
Quick answers
How much does a pilot make?
The blended US median is about 106,200 dollars, with a typical range from 83,187 dollars to 109,300 dollars, against an official OEWS median of 226,600 dollars.
Is pilot a good career in 2026?
Demand for the role is rated high in our July 2026 corpus, with 6% of postings fully remote. The pay is shown above by seniority and by country.
What can a pilot move into?
The nearest adjacent role on our skill graph is human factors engineer, at 46 percent skill coverage. Run the instrument for the full set of reachable moves.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 53-2011. Live corpus 334 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.