National Salary Info » Commercial Pilots

Highest Paying Industries for Commercial Pilots

The top 100 highest paying industries for commercial pilots (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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $115,410, computer and electronic product manufacturing is the highest paying industry for commercial pilots. It is followed by aerospace product and parts manufacturing industry (average annual salary $115,340). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of commercial pilots in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest Paying Industries for Commercial Pilots

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	$115,410	$81,080	30
2	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$115,340	$64,880	900
3	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	$115,170	$64,610	930
4	Remediation and Other Waste Management Services	$114,900	$63,270	n/a
5	Wired Telecommunications Carriers	$113,330	$84,790	n/a
6	Waste Management and Remediation Services	$112,670	$66,260	n/a
7	Employment Services	$112,160	$52,330	150
8	Telecommunications	$112,090	$84,070	n/a
9	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$111,160	$63,610	730
10	Administrative and Support Services	$111,030	$63,520	690
11	Information	$110,550	$78,060	200
12	Other Financial Investment Activities	$109,110	$70,280	60
13	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$108,550	$68,170	60
14	Scientific Research and Development Services	$108,550	$68,170	60
15	Manufacturing	$107,230	$61,840	1,400
16	Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	$105,530	$48,430	40
17	Insurance Carriers	$96,560	$42,570	120
18	Chemical Manufacturing	$95,430	$42,720	30
19	Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers	$95,050	$40,620	70
20	Utilities	$94,990	$72,680	n/a
21	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$94,880	$52,650	1,440
22	Office Administrative Services	$94,560	$63,380	280
23	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$94,340	$72,140	n/a
24	Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	$94,030	$64,290	100
25	Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction	$93,750	$68,460	60
26	Oil and Gas Extraction	$93,110	$58,130	160
27	Activities Related to Real Estate	$92,640	$62,190	60
28	Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries	$92,480	$56,820	110
29	Spectator Sports	$92,330	$55,640	100
30	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$92,100	$41,060	140
31	Nonresidential Building Construction	$91,180	$60,380	70
32	Finance and Insurance	$91,140	$51,920	260
33	Engineering Services	$90,960	$65,670	320
34	Construction of Buildings	$90,700	$58,100	70
35	Mining	$89,140	$46,090	210
36	Machinery Manufacturing	$88,940	$56,070	120
37	Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing	$88,120	$45,460	50
38	Real Estate	$87,320	$32,140	120
39	Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	$87,160	$50,550	460
40	Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)	$87,060	$52,950	30
41	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$86,870	$49,070	80
42	Land Subdivision	$86,410	$78,390	n/a
43	Construction	$86,350	$64,400	290
44	Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction	$86,120	$67,330	n/a
45	Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$86,040	$47,160	160
46	Support Activities for Crop Production	$85,170	$38,320	1,030
47	Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry	$84,420	$36,900	1,050
48	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$84,280	$44,010	420
49	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$83,730	$45,630	230
50	Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	$81,790	$50,730	30
51	Wholesale Trade	$80,860	$36,660	400
52	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$80,390	$40,830	1,620
53	Local government, including schools and hospitals	$79,980	$46,240	500
54	Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$79,850	$47,000	480
55	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	$79,700	$34,890	1,230
56	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods	$77,560	$30,760	110
57	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	$77,410	$32,570	n/a
58	Food Manufacturing	$76,600	$18,340	30
59	Hospitals - Privately owned	$74,790	$57,340	110
60	Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals)	$74,650	$56,570	110
61	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Privately owned	$74,640	$57,250	110
62	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	$74,640	$57,250	110
63	Nonscheduled Air Transportation	$74,180	$29,300	13,990
64	Air Transportation	$73,510	$29,710	n/a
65	Transportation and Warehousing	$73,180	$30,640	20,390
66	Support Activities for Transportation	$72,930	$40,080	3,160
67	Retail Trade	$72,910	$45,200	50
68	Support Activities for Air Transportation	$72,880	$40,090	3,130
69	Nonstore Retailers	$72,380	$45,840	30
70	Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage	$72,200	$56,250	30
71	Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers	$72,080	$53,050	50
72	Technical and trade schools - Privately owned	$70,940	$34,570	4,370
73	Technical and Trade Schools	$70,760	$34,600	4,390
74	Health Care and Social Assistance	$70,410	$41,540	3,400
75	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$70,240	$41,270	3,280
76	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$70,210	$45,700	950
77	Federal, State, and Local Government	$70,210	$45,700	950
78	Ambulance Services	$70,190	$41,090	3,200
79	Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$70,170	$41,230	3,260
80	All Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$69,500	$50,960	70
81	Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other	$68,790	$30,370	390
82	Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation	$68,790	$30,370	390
83	Lessors of Real Estate	$68,680	$29,200	60
84	Educational Services - Privately owned	$68,270	$34,520	4,640
85	Couriers and Express Delivery Services	$68,030	$44,170	190
86	Couriers and Messengers	$68,030	$44,170	190
87	Scheduled Air Transportation	$67,930	$39,220	n/a
88	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$67,840	$38,290	1,190
89	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	$67,770	$29,770	310
90	Educational Services	$66,760	$34,390	4,890
91	State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$65,190	$44,800	460
92	Legal Services	$62,670	$51,480	50
93	Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$61,630	$32,140	540
94	State government, including schools and hospitals	$61,150	$36,290	680
95	Support Activities for Mining	$59,180	$41,130	40
96	Truck Transportation	$53,010	$34,160	n/a
97	General Freight Trucking	$52,870	$34,100	n/a
98	Educational Services - State government owned	$48,710	$33,230	230
99	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$47,430	$33,090	210
100	Rental and Leasing Services	$46,580	$28,100	160