Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 53-2012

Commercial Pilots

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Commercial Pilots, then wages beside peers such as Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers, Ship Engineers, Locomotive Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Commercial Pilots: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) , Ship Engineers ($110K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Commercial Pilots publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-2012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly
  2. 2. Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required
  3. 3. Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become a…
  4. 4. Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor
  5. 5. Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights
  6. 6. Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights
  7. 7. Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment
  8. 8. Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments
  9. 9. Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, an…
  10. 10. Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly
  11. 11. Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identi…
  12. 12. Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other charact…

Commercial Pilots: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-2012 - lead skill Operation and Control at 4.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 4.8
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 4.4
  3. 3. Monitoring 4.1
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.9
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.9
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  8. 8. Speaking 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
  2. 2. English Language 4.0
  3. 3. Transportation 4.0
  4. 4. Geography 3.6
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 3.6
  6. 6. Mechanical 3.4
Occupation safety grade
C
Moderate Risk
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $123,220/yr
$123K
National median
↑ +5%
Growth 2024-2034
6,600
Annual openings
47,630
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Commercial Pilots

1. Ohio $150,330
2. Texas $137,960
3. Colorado $139,680
4. Vermont $137,810
5. New Jersey $226,710
6. California $165,590
7. Connecticut $232,160
8. New York $177,430
9. Delaware $163,600
10. Georgia $145,100

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Ship Engineers $109,530
  2. 2. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  3. 3. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  4. 4. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  5. 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  6. 6. Transportation Inspectors $92,100

Commercial Pilots carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of C from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $123,220 inside Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (SOC 53-2012).

Employment Projections expect +5% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Ohio at $150,330. 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.

Commercial Pilots pay-rank #3 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Commercial Pilots is pay-rank #3, 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.

SOC 53-2012 · national median $123,220 · upper third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#3/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Commercial Pilots salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-2012

Ohio · top state for Commercial Pilots

$150K published median

Texas · #2 state pay

$138K · behind Ohio

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Commercial Pilots · $232K

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

Lower-pay peer beside Commercial Pilots · $69K

Compare Commercial Pilots

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Commercial Pilots with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Commercial Pilots full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles sit near Commercial Pilots at the top of the pay table? ▼
Commercial Pilots is pay-rank #3 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Ship Engineers ($110K), Air Traffic Controllers ($148K), Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K), Transportation Inspectors ($92K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do commercial pilots do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Commercial Pilots. Leading ones include: Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly; Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required; Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become a…; Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for commercial pilots? ▼
For SOC 53-2012, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (4.8), Operations Monitoring (4.4), Monitoring (4.1), Critical Thinking (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Transportation. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Commercial Pilots? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $123,220 as the national median for Commercial Pilots. The published 10th-90th range is $58,850 to $266,620. Beside Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232,140), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Commercial Pilots? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Commercial Pilots is +5%. Projected annual openings: about 6,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Commercial Pilots? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Commercial Pilots. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Commercial Pilots? ▼
Ohio ($150,330), Texas ($137,960), Colorado ($139,680) 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 Commercial Pilots card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-2012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Commercial Pilots. 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