Highest-paying Cities for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

The top 100 highest paying cities for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $167,230, Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan is the highest paying city for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels. It is followed by Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida (average annual salary $126,500). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan	$167,230	$51,650	40
2	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$126,500	$43,120	2,080
3	Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi	$123,700	$29,970	30
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$123,370	$65,630	610
5	Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky	$111,970	$57,050	260
6	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$110,700	$58,180	340
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$105,910	$53,670	750
8	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$105,440	$54,700	2,490
9	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$104,580	$39,670	1,800
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$104,180	$37,750	100
11	Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana	$104,010	$53,510	1,740
12	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$103,880	$60,540	2,080
13	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$102,940	$53,620	150
14	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$101,750	$62,040	2,130
15	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$101,450	$49,930	400
16	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$100,580	$44,810	180
17	Peoria, Illinois	$99,610	$42,280	40
18	Stockton, California	$98,500	$59,110	40
19	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	$98,220	$44,940	120
20	Lake Charles, Louisiana	$97,130	$33,480	350
21	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$96,260	$55,120	590
22	Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$96,110	$50,810	420
23	Lafayette, Louisiana	$94,370	$44,410	300
24	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$92,810	$61,240	40
25	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$92,810	$76,250	60
26	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$92,000	$58,330	1,580
27	Western Tennessee nonmetropolitan area, Tennessee	$91,960	$40,750	40
28	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$91,420	$61,710	400
29	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$91,320	$44,340	60
30	Northeast Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$90,650	$59,510	40
31	Northwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$90,200	$62,410	100
32	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$88,830	$52,100	220
33	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$88,350	$63,660	n/a
34	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$87,550	$55,960	570
35	Duluth, Wisconsin	$87,470	$82,510	70
36	Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia	$87,210	$46,600	130
37	Mobile, Alabama	$85,710	$42,850	130
38	Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area, Iowa	$85,050	$39,110	40
39	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$83,980	$34,660	300
40	Northwestern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$82,920	$62,640	n/a
41	Anchorage, Alaska	$82,700	$62,030	150
42	St Louis, Missouri	$82,530	$33,120	290
43	Alexandria, Louisiana	$81,940	$35,300	n/a
44	Southwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area, Mississippi	$81,510	$70,530	330
45	Jacksonville, Florida	$80,890	$44,240	850
46	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$80,810	$55,290	1,910
47	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$80,510	$40,990	40
48	New Bedford, Massachusetts	$80,370	$47,180	30
49	North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area, West Virginia	$79,510	$79,510	60
50	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$79,210	$52,000	30
51	Winnsboro nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$79,090	$34,420	n/a
52	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$79,010	$38,840	100
53	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$78,950	$35,600	180
54	Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area, Missouri	$78,560	$25,960	40
55	Ocean City, New Jersey	$78,090	$39,560	30
56	Evansville, Kentucky	$77,980	$49,380	40
57	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee	$77,790	$58,430	n/a
58	Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas	$77,700	$31,640	130
59	West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, Kentucky	$77,110	$48,800	890
60	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$76,720	$64,920	n/a
61	Low Country South Carolina nonmetropolitan area, South Carolina	$76,390	$54,910	90
62	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$76,220	$37,810	120
63	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$76,070	$50,330	240
64	Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$75,280	$49,860	80
65	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$74,880	$36,420	50
66	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$73,910	$41,300	580
67	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$73,780	$47,740	80
68	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$73,230	$40,840	100
69	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$73,020	$33,740	1,250
70	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$72,940	$48,730	210
71	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa	$71,720	$64,010	30
72	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$71,070	$45,210	290
73	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$71,020	$37,070	90
74	New Iberia nonmetropolitan area, Louisiana	$70,920	$27,610	200
75	Wilmington, New Jersey	$70,890	$41,140	60
76	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$70,780	$54,450	30
77	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$70,710	$27,450	30
78	Coastal Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$69,800	$55,820	40
79	Corpus Christi, Texas	$69,720	$35,320	170
80	Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$69,430	$42,090	70
81	South Illinois nonmetropolitan area, Illinois	$69,100	$28,940	50
82	Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$68,340	$35,950	40
83	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$67,250	$47,510	100
84	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$67,030	$29,890	70
85	East Arkansas nonmetropolitan area, Arkansas	$65,990	$30,210	160
86	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$65,850	$35,400	70
87	Savannah, Georgia	$65,480	$31,670	530
88	New Haven, Connecticut	$65,100	$54,360	160
89	Northeastern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$64,680	$32,660	60
90	Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area, Ohio	$63,710	$30,360	50
91	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$63,650	$41,080	30
92	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$63,240	$36,880	40
93	Columbia, South Carolina	$63,020	$27,710	60
94	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$62,980	$43,120	40
95	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$62,880	$37,940	30
96	Brunswick, Georgia	$62,510	$28,650	70
97	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$62,260	$27,430	980
98	Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama	$62,160	$43,240	50
99	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$62,070	$31,290	460
100	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$61,850	$35,760	140

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels.