The average annual salaries for commercial pilots in the state of California are shown in Table 1. The comparison of the salary statistics of commercial pilots among California metropolitan areas is shown in Table 2. The salary statistics are based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile bracket | Average annual salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $63,440 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $80,050 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $113,750 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $170,800 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $196,900 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for commercial pilots in California in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is $196,900. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $113,750. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $63,440.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of commercial pilots from 2012 to 2022.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 10-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $113,750 | -11.75% | 30.88% |
| 2021 | $127,110 | 15.89% | - |
| 2020 | $106,910 | 14.28% | - |
| 2019 | $91,640 | 10.58% | - |
| 2018 | $81,940 | 1.99% | - |
| 2017 | $80,310 | -2.18% | - |
| 2016 | $82,060 | -10.25% | - |
| 2015 | $90,470 | 4.10% | - |
| 2014 | $86,760 | 3.31% | - |
| 2013 | $83,890 | 6.28% | - |
| 2012 | $78,620 | - | - |
Table 3 shows the median annual salary of commercial pilots in some California cities and metropolitan areas. We note that the median annual salary of commercial pilots in state of California ranges from $36,860 to $159,250. The highest paying area for commercial pilots in California is Vallejo-Fairfield with a median annual salary of $159,250. The second highest paying city/area in California State is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (mean annual salary $136,750). The lowest paying area is Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area with a median annual salary of $36,860.