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Commercial Pilots · SOC 53-2012

Commercial Pilots Salary in the Washington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

Figures describe the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Washington city limits.

Median annual wage$125,850

BLS publishes only annual wages for this occupation (workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year).

Commercial Pilots in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earned a median of $125,850 per year as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $75,310 at the 10th percentile to $259,570 at the 90th. BLS estimates 510 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Commercial Pilots in the Washington metro area earn more than $125,850 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $93,460 and $192,550.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$75,310$93,460$125,850$192,550$259,570

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Washington metro areathis metro area
    $125,850
  • United Statesnational
    $123,220

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +2% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$45,160$135,257$225,353$315,450Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL — $45,160Toledo, OH — $61,080Champaign-Urbana, IL — $67,770Flagstaff, AZ — $68,460Visalia, CA — $75,600Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $77,750Lafayette, LA — $79,430Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $80,160San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $81,180Akron, OH — $84,170Rapid City, SD — $86,150Oshkosh-Neenah, WI — $86,860Baton Rouge, LA — $89,700Montgomery, AL — $91,120Monroe, LA — $91,490St. Louis, MO-IL — $91,540Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $92,150Columbia, SC — $92,300Tallahassee, FL — $94,410El Paso, TX — $94,690Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL — $95,870Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA — $97,570Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $97,780Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $98,000Bend, OR — $99,010Columbus, IN — $99,250La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN — $99,350Lake Charles, LA — $99,600Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $99,600Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $99,720Anchorage, AK — $99,920Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $100,230Ocala, FL — $100,240Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ — $100,420Helena, MT — $100,940Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $101,050Huntsville, AL — $101,540Albuquerque, NM — $101,820Peoria, IL — $101,820Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $102,300Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ — $102,460Salinas, CA — $102,580Urban Honolulu, HI — $103,460Fairbanks-College, AK — $103,570Missoula, MT — $104,260Topeka, KS — $104,530Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $105,340North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $105,720Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $105,770Billings, MT — $105,830Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $105,910Greeley, CO — $106,150Wichita, KS — $106,250Jacksonville, FL — $106,350Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $106,440Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $106,510Cheyenne, WY — $106,860Ogden, UT — $107,600Corpus Christi, TX — $107,810Reno, NV — $108,550Tucson, AZ — $109,480Madison, WI — $109,740Omaha, NE-IA — $110,210Lexington-Fayette, KY — $111,030Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $111,170Grand Forks, ND-MN — $111,680Fresno, CA — $112,000Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $112,100Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $112,320Springfield, MO — $114,000Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $114,350Eau Claire, WI — $114,560Stockton-Lodi, CA — $115,450Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $117,660Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $117,790San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $118,190Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $118,980Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $119,400Richmond, VA — $119,710Jackson, MS — $119,990Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $120,910Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $121,490Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $122,230Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $122,420Knoxville, TN — $123,000Chico, CA — $123,880Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $124,570Medford, OR — $124,990Salem, OR — $125,120Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $125,850Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL — $126,270Ann Arbor, MI — $126,400Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $126,550Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $126,990Birmingham, AL — $127,280Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $127,360San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $128,080Fayetteville, NC — $128,170Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $128,500Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $128,770Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $128,900Rochester, NY — $129,350Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $129,850Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $130,230Raleigh-Cary, NC — $130,600Chattanooga, TN-GA — $130,630Boise City, ID — $130,900Kansas City, MO-KS — $131,000Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $131,420Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $131,590Fargo, ND-MN — $131,950Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $132,400Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $132,810Naples-Marco Island, FL — $132,980Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $133,220Reading, PA — $133,240Greensboro-High Point, NC — $133,870Pittsburgh, PA — $134,030Redding, CA — $135,340New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $135,950Winston-Salem, NC — $137,180Bozeman, MT — $137,430Tulsa, OK — $137,490Bismarck, ND — $137,510Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $137,810Mobile, AL — $137,960Modesto, CA — $140,920Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $144,750Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $145,210Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $146,880Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $149,200Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $153,210Oklahoma City, OK — $156,760Manchester-Nashua, NH — $157,210Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $157,420Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $158,670San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $159,420Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $160,160Boulder, CO — $165,780Cleveland, OH — $166,520Colorado Springs, CO — $167,310Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $170,600Lexington Park, MD — $171,560Wilmington, NC — $172,320San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $173,070Port St. Lucie, FL — $173,100Columbus, OH — $175,690Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $177,730Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $193,940Midland, TX — $198,480Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $205,700Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $211,350New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $225,900Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $232,600Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $274,730Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $280,630Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $315,450

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Washington metro area has the 68th-highest published median for this occupation among the 157 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Stockers and Order Fillers$37,870Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$42,590Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$59,820Light Truck Drivers$46,360Driver/Sales Workers$38,790Bus Drivers, School$57,610

Highest-paying metro areas for commercial pilotss · Highest-paying occupations in Washington Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.