Pilot Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,020 US job postings by 164 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for pilots: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,020 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for pilots in US job postings is $112,000 a year (543 postings from 39 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $88,000 to $136,000.
Pilot job postings in the US, October 2026
- $112,000
- Median advertised pay (543 postings)
- $88,000–$136,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,020
- US job postings from 164 employers
How much does a pilot make?
The median advertised pay is $112,000 a year, from 543 US job postings by 39 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $221,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 543 US pilot job postings: median $112,000 a year, middle half $88,000 to $136,000.
- Median: $112,000
- 25th percentile: $88,000
- 75th percentile: $136,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 1.7% |
| $20K–$30K | 0.6% |
| $30K–$40K | 0.6% |
| $40K–$50K | 1.7% |
| $50K–$60K | 5.1% |
| $60K–$70K | 1.7% |
| $70K–$80K | 1.7% |
| $80K–$90K | 14.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 8.5% |
| $100K–$110K | 8.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 18.8% |
| $120K–$130K | 5.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 6.2% |
| $140K–$150K | 3.4% |
| $150K–$160K | 2.8% |
| $160K–$170K | 1.7% |
| $180K–$190K | 2.3% |
| $190K–$200K | 2.3% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.1% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.6% |
| $220K–$230K | 0.6% |
| $230K–$240K | 2.3% |
| $240K–$250K | 1.7% |
| $250K–$260K | 0.6% |
| $260K–$270K | 2.3% |
| $270K–$280K | 2.3% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pay postings, annualised | $112,000 | $88K–$136K | 543 |
What is the starting salary for a pilot?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying pilot jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot (general) | $112,000 | 523 | 34 |
What does a pilot do?
Employers post these jobs as First Officer, Test Pilot, Helicopter Pilot, Flight Instructor, Chief Pilot and other titles.
The closest official occupation is Commercial Pilots (53-2012.00). Its most important tasks:
- Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
- Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
- Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
- Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
- Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Other names for a pilot: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| First Officer | 24 (14.6%) |
| Test Pilot | 23 (14.0%) |
| Helicopter Pilot | 20 (12.2%) |
| Flight Instructor | 19 (11.6%) |
| Pilot | 15 (9.2%) |
| Chief Pilot | 9 (5.5%) |
| Certified Flight Instructor | 8 (4.9%) |
| Corporate Pilot | 7 (4.3%) |
| UAS Pilot | 7 (4.3%) |
| Assistant Chief Pilot | 7 (4.3%) |
| Fixed Wing Pilot | 7 (4.3%) |
| Line Pilot | 6 (3.7%) |
| Chief Flight Instructor | 5 (3.0%) |
| Captain | 4 (2.4%) |
| AIRPLANE PILOT | 4 (2.4%) |
| Check Airman | 4 (2.4%) |
| Rotor Wing Pilot | 3 (1.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Pilot compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | $112K | – | 1,020 | – |
| Training Specialist | $84K | 3 years | 3,747 | 12 |
| Loan Processor | $57K | 2 years | 1,339 | 12 |
| Paralegal | $78K | 3 years | 4,474 | 13 |
| Customer Service Representative | $19.00/hr | 1 year | 33,817 | 13 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Training Specialist | 12 | $84K |
| Loan Processor | 12 | $57K |
| Paralegal | 13 | $78K |
| Customer Service Representative | 13 | $19.00/hr |
| Front Desk Agent | 11 | $18.50/hr |
| Administrative Assistant | 13 | $21.50/hr |
Applying for pilot jobs?
- Pilot resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find pilot jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a pilot make?
What are the highest-paying pilot jobs?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.