National Salary Info » Highest Paying States for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

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

The highest-paying states 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 states are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with an annual salary of $105,910, Washington is the highest paying state for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels. It is followed by Tennessee (average annual salary $105,760). 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 state, use the links in the table.

Table 1. Highest-paying States for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (2022 Survey)

Rank	State	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Washington	$105,910	$59,680	1,050
2	Tennessee	$105,760	$46,860	900
3	New Jersey	$104,940	$58,220	870
4	Indiana	$104,530	$50,860	630
5	California	$103,880	$60,430	3,250
6	Louisiana	$103,530	$52,550	6,530
7	Oregon	$103,410	$51,550	350
8	Maryland	$103,330	$50,390	510
9	Texas	$102,800	$37,750	2,550
10	Illinois	$100,290	$55,380	1,000
11	Mississippi	$96,040	$65,180	460
12	West Virginia	$95,860	$51,650	100
13	New York	$92,930	$57,200	1,650
14	Alaska	$88,570	$61,530	580
15	Minnesota	$87,470	$47,130	150
16	Arkansas	$87,230	$36,410	30
17	Oklahoma	$86,570	$23,600	40
18	Montana	$86,250	$36,900	0
19	Alabama	$85,230	$39,920	380
20	Virginia	$80,560	$44,810	2,180
21	Delaware	$80,170	$46,190	90
22	Iowa	$79,240	$31,620	110
23	Kentucky	$79,090	$49,380	1,260
24	Florida	$78,950	$37,390	4,870
25	Vermont	$74,090	$49,800	40
26	Michigan	$73,360	$42,410	410
27	Maine	$67,840	$36,710	220
28	District of Columbia	$67,600	$33,890	50
29	Rhode Island	$67,250	$47,510	100
30	Connecticut	$67,220	$48,140	300
31	Ohio	$67,150	$34,320	220
32	New Hampshire	$66,700	$34,830	40
33	Georgia	$65,520	$31,670	680
34	Massachusetts	$61,240	$35,760	580
35	Hawaii	$61,110	$36,500	380
36	Missouri	$60,870	$32,050	480
37	South Carolina	$58,720	$34,330	740
38	Pennsylvania	$58,690	$32,610	580
39	Wisconsin	$58,210	$28,470	160
40	North Carolina	$56,690	$27,250	380
41	Arizona	$53,810	$28,490	40
42	Guam	$49,980	$27,010	40
43	Virgin Islands	$49,310	$24,480	120
44	Puerto Rico	$41,640	$21,820	130

Note: some states are missing from this table because the median salary information of captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels in those states is not available at this time.