Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
53-2021 Air Traffic Controllers
Control air traffic on and within vicinity of airport, and movement of air traffic between altitude sectors and control centers, according to established procedures and policies. Authorize, regulate, and control commercial airline flights according to government or company regulations to expedite and ensure flight safety.
National estimates for Air Traffic Controllers
Industry profile for Air Traffic Controllers
Geographic profile for Air Traffic Controllers
National estimates for Air Traffic Controllers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Air Traffic Controllers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 22,310 |
0.7 % |
$ 65.77 |
$ 136,790 |
0.3 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Air Traffic Controllers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 36.63 |
$ 46.57 |
$ 66.05 |
$ 84.96 |
$ 96.63 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 76,190 |
$ 96,870 |
$ 137,380 |
$ 176,720 |
$ 200,990 |
Industry profile for Air Traffic Controllers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Air Traffic Controllers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Air Traffic Controllers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Air Traffic Controllers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) |
19,230 |
0.90 |
$ 68.29 |
$ 142,050 |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation |
1,370 |
0.54 |
$ 39.86 |
$ 82,910 |
| Scheduled Air Transportation |
310 |
0.07 |
$ 47.85 |
$ 99,530 |
| Technical and Trade Schools |
200 |
0.14 |
$ 38.40 |
$ 79,880 |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation |
60 |
0.11 |
$ 50.39 |
$ 104,800 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Air Traffic Controllers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) |
19,230 |
0.90 |
$ 68.29 |
$ 142,050 |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation |
1,370 |
0.54 |
$ 39.86 |
$ 82,910 |
| Technical and Trade Schools |
200 |
0.14 |
$ 38.40 |
$ 79,880 |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation |
60 |
0.11 |
$ 50.39 |
$ 104,800 |
| Scheduled Air Transportation |
310 |
0.07 |
$ 47.85 |
$ 99,530 |
Top paying industries for Air Traffic Controllers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 73.89 |
$ 153,700 |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) |
19,230 |
0.90 |
$ 68.29 |
$ 142,050 |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation |
60 |
0.11 |
$ 50.39 |
$ 104,800 |
| Scheduled Air Transportation |
310 |
0.07 |
$ 47.85 |
$ 99,530 |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation |
1,370 |
0.54 |
$ 39.86 |
$ 82,910 |
Geographic profile for Air Traffic Controllers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Air Traffic Controllers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Air Traffic Controllers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Air Traffic Controllers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
2,490 |
0.14 |
0.94 |
$ 72.15 |
$ 150,060 |
| Texas |
2,060 |
0.15 |
1.03 |
$ 70.49 |
$ 146,620 |
| Florida |
2,030 |
0.21 |
1.44 |
$ 63.48 |
$ 132,030 |
| New York |
1,250 |
0.13 |
0.90 |
$ 66.97 |
$ 139,290 |
| Virginia |
1,110 |
0.28 |
1.90 |
$ 78.18 |
$ 162,620 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Air Traffic Controllers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
470 |
1.51 |
10.25 |
$ 58.89 |
$ 122,480 |
| District of Columbia |
610 |
0.86 |
5.88 |
$ 44.66 |
$ 92,890 |
| New Hampshire |
420 |
0.62 |
4.24 |
$ 78.60 |
$ 163,480 |
| New Mexico |
350 |
0.41 |
2.80 |
$ 62.11 |
$ 129,180 |
| Hawaii |
210 |
0.34 |
2.28 |
$ 64.87 |
$ 134,930 |
Top paying states for Air Traffic Controllers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Hampshire |
420 |
0.62 |
4.24 |
$ 78.60 |
$ 163,480 |
| Virginia |
1,110 |
0.28 |
1.90 |
$ 78.18 |
$ 162,620 |
| Minnesota |
630 |
0.22 |
1.48 |
$ 75.03 |
$ 156,070 |
| Illinois |
950 |
0.16 |
1.07 |
$ 74.44 |
$ 154,830 |
| Colorado |
690 |
0.24 |
1.66 |
$ 73.36 |
$ 152,580 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Air Traffic Controllers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,590 |
0.51 |
3.50 |
$ 67.72 |
$ 140,850 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1,210 |
0.20 |
1.33 |
$ 75.87 |
$ 157,810 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
1,130 |
0.12 |
0.81 |
$ 71.15 |
$ 148,000 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
830 |
0.30 |
2.07 |
$ 66.43 |
$ 138,180 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
810 |
0.29 |
1.96 |
$ 77.47 |
$ 161,150 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
790 |
0.18 |
1.19 |
$ 80.72 |
$ 167,910 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
780 |
0.20 |
1.34 |
$ 79.22 |
$ 164,780 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
590 |
0.19 |
1.27 |
$ 83.02 |
$ 172,690 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
580 |
0.30 |
2.07 |
$ 77.51 |
$ 161,230 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH |
510 |
0.51 |
3.48 |
$ 75.43 |
$ 156,890 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Air Traffic Controllers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Fairbanks, AK |
90 |
2.50 |
17.00 |
$ 47.78 |
$ 99,390 |
| Anchorage, AK |
270 |
1.58 |
10.74 |
$ 68.18 |
$ 141,810 |
| Yuma, AZ |
40 |
0.63 |
4.28 |
$ 49.13 |
$ 102,190 |
| Jacksonville, FL |
430 |
0.58 |
3.97 |
$ 70.63 |
$ 146,910 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL |
110 |
0.54 |
3.66 |
$ 53.66 |
$ 111,600 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,590 |
0.51 |
3.50 |
$ 67.72 |
$ 140,850 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, OH |
510 |
0.51 |
3.48 |
$ 75.43 |
$ 156,890 |
| Killeen-Temple, TX |
60 |
0.42 |
2.86 |
$ 48.74 |
$ 101,390 |
| Salt Lake City, UT |
330 |
0.41 |
2.77 |
$ 67.12 |
$ 139,610 |
| Panama City, FL |
30 |
0.40 |
2.73 |
$ 51.72 |
$ 107,580 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Air Traffic Controllers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
590 |
0.19 |
1.27 |
$ 83.02 |
$ 172,690 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
70 |
0.03 |
0.20 |
$ 81.44 |
$ 169,380 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
790 |
0.18 |
1.19 |
$ 80.72 |
$ 167,910 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
460 |
0.17 |
1.15 |
$ 79.31 |
$ 164,960 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
780 |
0.20 |
1.34 |
$ 79.22 |
$ 164,780 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
580 |
0.30 |
2.07 |
$ 77.51 |
$ 161,230 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
810 |
0.29 |
1.96 |
$ 77.47 |
$ 161,150 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1,210 |
0.20 |
1.33 |
$ 75.87 |
$ 157,810 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
180 |
0.06 |
0.42 |
$ 75.75 |
$ 157,550 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
250 |
0.16 |
1.07 |
$ 75.53 |
$ 157,100 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Air Traffic Controllers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Air Traffic Controllers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Air Traffic Controllers:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
