Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-2021

Air Traffic Controllers

The published band from $78,420 to $215,610 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Air Traffic Controllers: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Flight Attendants ($64K) , Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters ($78K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Air Traffic Controllers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems
  2. 2. Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions
  3. 3. Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights
  4. 4. Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations
  5. 5. Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties
  6. 6. Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety
  7. 7. Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land
  8. 8. Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references
  9. 9. Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers
  10. 10. Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information
  11. 11. Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate air…
  12. 12. Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes

Air Traffic Controllers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-2021 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.4 ; lead knowledge Transportation. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.4
  2. 2. Speaking 4.3
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 4.1
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 4.1
  5. 5. Monitoring 4.0
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 4.0
  7. 7. Coordination 3.9
  8. 8. Reading Comprehension 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Transportation 4.2
  2. 2. English Language 3.9
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 3.8
  4. 4. Education and Training 3.8
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  6. 6. Geography 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$78,420 to $215,610
median $148,080 · ~2.7× spread
$148K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
2,200
Annual openings
22,510
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Associate's degree

Top Paying States for Air Traffic Controllers

1. Georgia $178,420
2. California $160,080
3. Indiana $158,810
4. Illinois $181,560
5. Washington $162,570
6. Kansas $159,700
7. Texas $170,080
8. Virginia $191,820
9. Colorado $177,380
10. Minnesota $176,840

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  2. 2. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  3. 3. Flight Attendants $63,580
  4. 4. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  5. 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  6. 6. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080

The OEWS band for Air Traffic Controllers runs from $78,420 (10th) to $215,610 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $148,080. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Associate's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Georgia at $178,420. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Air Traffic Controllers pay-rank #2 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Air Traffic Controllers is pay-rank #2, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Air Traffic Controllers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Air Traffic Controllers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-2021

Georgia · top state for Air Traffic Controllers

$178K published median

California · #2 state pay

$160K · behind Georgia

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Air Traffic Controllers · $232K

Flight Attendants

Lower-pay peer beside Air Traffic Controllers · $64K

Compare Air Traffic Controllers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Air Traffic Controllers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Air Traffic Controllers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Air Traffic Controllers is pay-rank #2 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Commercial Pilots ($123K), Ship Engineers ($110K), Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K), Transportation Inspectors ($92K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do air traffic controllers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Air Traffic Controllers. Leading ones include: Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems; Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions; Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights; Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for air traffic controllers? ▼
For SOC 53-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.4), Speaking (4.3), Critical Thinking (4.1), Judgment and Decision Making (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Transportation, English Language, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Air Traffic Controllers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $78,420 and the 90th at $215,610 for Air Traffic Controllers (2.7× spread). The national median is $148,080. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Air Traffic Controllers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Air Traffic Controllers is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 2,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Air Traffic Controllers? ▼
BLS assigns Associate's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Air Traffic Controllers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Air Traffic Controllers? ▼
Georgia ($178,420), California ($160,080), Indiana ($158,810) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Air Traffic Controllers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Air Traffic Controllers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics