Transportation
Commercial Pilots
SOC 53-2012
Fly charters, cargo, and tours outside the major airlines.
The job
Median pay
$123k
$85k to $190k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+5.2% projected
Openings a year
5k
BLS projection
Typical education
High school plus license
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
30/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
37th pct
More exposed than 37% of occupations · modeled estimate · 55th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
62/100
Key skills
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 6,340 | 0.6 | 2.1× | $122k |
| California | 4,900 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $166k |
| Texas | 4,120 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $138k |
| Ohio | 2,680 | 0.5 | 1.6× | $150k |
| Arizona | 1,540 | 0.5 | 1.6× | $103k |
| North Carolina | 1,520 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $127k |
| Michigan | 1,390 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $127k |
| Colorado | 1,240 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $140k |
| Illinois | 1,170 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $126k |
| Virginia | 1,130 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $105k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1,100 | 0.7 | 2.3× | $105k |
| Wisconsin | 1,090 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $130k |
| New York | 1,070 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $177k |
| Tennessee | 1,030 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $117k |
| Georgia | 1,020 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $145k |
| Alaska | 1,000 | 3.1 | 10.0× | $100k |
| Indiana | 960 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $104k |
| Louisiana | 910 | 0.5 | 1.5× | $96k |
| Minnesota | 910 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $99k |
| Washington | 890 | 0.3 | 0.8× | $118k |
| Kentucky | 800 | 0.4 | 1.3× | $130k |
| Alabama | 780 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $101k |
| Kansas | 680 | 0.5 | 1.5× | $105k |
| Missouri | 670 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $103k |
| New Jersey | 670 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $227k |
| Oregon | 670 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $121k |
| Oklahoma | 540 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $126k |
| Utah | 540 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $100k |
| Pennsylvania | 530 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $134k |
| Arkansas | 460 | 0.4 | 1.1× | $94k |
| Connecticut | 460 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $232k |
| New Hampshire | 440 | 0.6 | 2.1× | $122k~ |
| New Mexico | 370 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $98k |
| North Dakota | 370 | 0.9 | 2.8× | $133k |
| Maryland | 360 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $131k |
| Hawaii | 350 | 0.6 | 1.8× | $113k |
| Montana | 330 | 0.6 | 2.1× | $104k |
| South Dakota | 320 | 0.7 | 2.3× | $84k |
| Idaho | 310 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $110k |
| Iowa | 300 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $102k |
| Nebraska | 290 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $105k |
| South Carolina | 290 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $106k |
| Mississippi | 240 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $104k |
| Delaware | 220 | 0.5 | 1.5× | $164k |
| Wyoming | 190 | 0.7 | 2.2× | $103k |
| Massachusetts | 160 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $128k~ |
| Maine | 100 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $118k |
| Rhode Island | 80 | 0.2 | 0.5× | $99k |
| Washington DC | 64 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $137k~ |
| Vermont | 40 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $138k |
| West Virginia | 40 | 0.1 | 0.2× | $106k |
Top metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL3,440 jobs · $127k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,980 jobs
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX1,810 jobs · $160k median
- Columbus, OH1,410 jobs · $176k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ1,210 jobs · $226k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ1,020 jobs · $106k median
- Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV940 jobs · $105k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN840 jobs · $157k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Commercial Pilots interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.