Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-2031

Flight Attendants

The published band from $35,110 to $136,430 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 Flight Attendants: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) , Ship Engineers ($110K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Flight Attendants publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-2031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order
  2. 2. Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets
  3. 3. Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers
  4. 4. Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings
  5. 5. Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing
  6. 6. Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures
  7. 7. Administer first aid to passengers in distress
  8. 8. Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities
  9. 9. Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and b…
  10. 10. Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered
  11. 11. Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate…
  12. 12. Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of c…

Flight Attendants: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-2031 - lead skill Speaking at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.9
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.9
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.8
  5. 5. Service Orientation 3.8
  6. 6. Coordination 3.6
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  8. 8. Critical Thinking 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  2. 2. Public Safety and Security 4.5
  3. 3. English Language 4.5
  4. 4. Transportation 3.5
  5. 5. Psychology 3.3
  6. 6. Geography 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$35,110 to $136,430
median $63,580 · ~3.9× spread
$64K
National median
↑ +9%
Growth 2024-2034
19,800
Annual openings
131,650
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Flight Attendants

1. Illinois $62,120
2. Ohio $62,440
3. Washington $74,090
4. Idaho $62,200
5. Utah $82,730
6. Georgia $78,320
7. Michigan $62,490
8. New York $126,650
9. California $82,170
10. Connecticut $78,180

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  2. 2. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  3. 3. Ship Engineers $109,530
  4. 4. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  5. 5. Air Traffic Controllers $148,080
  6. 6. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000

The OEWS band for Flight Attendants runs from $35,110 (10th) to $136,430 (90th), about 3.9× wide, with median $63,580. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +9% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 19,800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. 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: Illinois at $62,120. 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.

Flight Attendants pay-rank #14 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Among 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with a published OEWS median, Flight Attendants is pay-rank #14, 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 Flight Attendants is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Flight Attendants salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-2031

Illinois · top state for Flight Attendants

$62K published median

Ohio · #2 state pay

$62K · behind Illinois

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Flight Attendants · $232K

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

Lower-pay peer beside Flight Attendants · $69K

Compare Flight Attendants

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Flight Attendants 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 Flight Attendants at the top of the pay table? ▼
Flight Attendants is pay-rank #14 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($63K), Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers ($62K), Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers ($61K), Crane and Tower Operators ($68K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do flight attendants do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Flight Attendants. Leading ones include: Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order; Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets; Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers; Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for flight attendants? ▼
For SOC 53-2031, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.1), Active Listening (3.9), Monitoring (3.9), Social Perceptiveness (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Public Safety and Security, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Flight Attendants? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $35,110 and the 90th at $136,430 for Flight Attendants (3.9× spread). The national median is $63,580. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Flight Attendants? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Flight Attendants is +9%. Projected annual openings: about 19,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Flight Attendants? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Flight Attendants. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Flight Attendants? ▼
Illinois ($62,120), Ohio ($62,440), Washington ($74,090) 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 Flight Attendants card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-2031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Flight Attendants. 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