Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Salary in Charlotte, NC (2024)
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area earn a median of $154,360 per year based on 4,110 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -31.9% against the national median of $226,600 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers actually sit across the pay range in Charlotte, NC, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $46.87 | $97,480 | |
| 25th percentile | $47.38 | $98,560 | |
| Median | — | $154,360 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $99.12 | $206,160 | |
| 90th percentile | $100.22 | $208,460 | |
| Average (mean) | — | $148,410 |
How Charlotte, NC compares
The local median of $154,360 runs -31.9% below the US median of $226,600 for this occupation; it pays 215.8% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,880); within the metro it ranks 12th of 641 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, NC — this occupation | $154,360 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $226,600 | -31.9% |
| Charlotte, NC — all occupations | $48,880 | +215.8% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $229,930 | -32.9% |
Charlotte, NC has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 4.76 means the job is roughly 476% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.5%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 12th of 641 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Charlotte, NC
To put $154,360 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 12th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $238,780 | 980 |
| Dentists, General | $192,580 | 820 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | $172,640 | 50 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $172,100 | 7,580 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $167,590 | 1,780 |
| Financial Managers | $167,470 | 8,790 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $165,120 | 480 |
| Compensation and Benefits Managers | $164,160 | 220 |
| Commercial Pilots | $163,530 | 420 |
| Marketing Managers | $158,490 | 3,750 |
Where airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earn the most
Across the 9 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $154,360 to $229,930. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $229,930 | 2,080 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $226,130 | 200 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $214,390 | 4,950 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $211,860 | 5,540 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $205,650 | 180 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $198,800 | 1,990 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $184,560 | — |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $172,710 | 3,230 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $154,360 | 4,110 |
See the full national picture on the Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in Charlotte, NC?
The median annual wage is $154,360. That means half of the airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers working in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $148,410.
What do the highest and lowest paid airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in Charlotte, NC earn?
The bottom 10% earn $97,480 or less, while the top 10% earn $208,460 or more — a spread of $110,980 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $98,560 and $206,160.
Is airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers pay in Charlotte, NC above the local average?
Yes, it is 215.8% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,880. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Charlotte, NC pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $154,360 the metro median is 31.9% lower than the US median of $226,600 for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers. Across the 9 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $154,360 to $229,930.
How many airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers work in Charlotte, NC?
BLS counts about 4,110 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 3.06 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Charlotte, NC has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 4.76 means the job is roughly 476% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 2.4%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.