Transportation
Ship Captains & Mates
SOC 53-5021
Command and navigate vessels and the crews that run them.
The job
Median pay
$92k
$64k to $127k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+4.0% projected
Openings a year
4k
BLS projection
Typical education
Postsecondary
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
5/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
6th pct
More exposed than 6% of occupations · modeled estimate · 45th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
54/100
Key skills
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 6,830 | 3.5 | 14.9× | $117k |
| Florida | 5,040 | 0.5 | 2.1× | $76k |
| Texas | 3,400 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $111k |
| California | 2,420 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $110k |
| Virginia | 2,270 | 0.6 | 2.3× | $88k |
| New York | 1,930 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $105k |
| Washington | 1,560 | 0.4 | 1.9× | $104k |
| Kentucky | 1,060 | 0.5 | 2.2× | $93k~ |
| Indiana | 1,010 | 0.3 | 1.3× | $92k |
| Tennessee | 940 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $133k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 900 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $70k |
| Alaska | 710 | 2.2 | 9.2× | $88k |
| Hawaii | 700 | 1.1 | 4.7× | $73k |
| Massachusetts | 650 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $78k |
| Michigan | 640 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $54k |
| Colorado | 587 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $98k~ |
| Pennsylvania | 580 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $61k |
| Mississippi | 570 | 0.5 | 2.1× | $104k |
| South Carolina | 520 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $58k |
| New Jersey | 510 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $90k |
| North Carolina | 490 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $69k |
| Maryland | 450 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $139k |
| Missouri | 420 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $84k |
| Ohio | 420 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $56k |
| Nevada | 402 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $87k~ |
| Connecticut | 380 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $76k |
| Utah | 364 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $50k~ |
| Kansas | 363 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $93k~ |
| Arkansas | 362 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $81k~ |
| Maine | 360 | 0.6 | 2.4× | $73k |
| Alabama | 350 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $69k |
| Oregon | 350 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $97k |
| Rhode Island | 250 | 0.5 | 2.1× | $77k |
| Nebraska | 246 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $93k~ |
| Georgia | 220 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $77k |
| Idaho | 197 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $93k~ |
| New Mexico | 174 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $85k~ |
| Wisconsin | 170 | 0.1 | 0.2× | $74k |
| North Dakota | 116 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $103k~ |
| Minnesota | 110 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $81k |
| West Virginia | 110 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $85k |
| South Dakota | 107 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $84k~ |
| Montana | 106 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $95k~ |
| Iowa | 80 | 0.1 | 0.2× | $98k |
| New Hampshire | 70 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $76k |
| Wyoming | 69 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $99k~ |
| Delaware | 50 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $73k |
| Washington DC | 50 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $103k~ |
| Arizona | 40 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $59k |
| Vermont | 40 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $64k |
| Oklahoma | 30 | 0.0 | 0.1× | $79k |
Top metro areas
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX2,550 jobs · $119k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2,060 jobs · $106k median
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC2,050 jobs · $87k median
- Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA2,040 jobs · $104k median
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA1,940 jobs · $122k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL1,710 jobs · $78k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,210 jobs · $113k median
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA1,140 jobs · $109k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Ship Captains & Mates 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.