SOC 53-2021 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Air Traffic Controllers — Boston
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Median pay for this occupation in Boston, MA is $135,720 a year, trailing the national median of $148,080 by 8.3%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow more slowly than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +1.2%
- Openings per year
- 2,200
- Typical entry-level education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
Median pay for this occupation in Boston, MA is $135,720 a year, trailing the national median of $148,080 by 8.3%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $103,920 and $180,070. The lowest tenth earn under $87,420, while the highest tenth earn more than $210,870.
The area has 100 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 0.0 of every thousand jobs. Of the 687 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 59th.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $87,420 | −41.0% |
| 25th | $103,920 | −29.8% |
| Median (50th) | $135,720 | −8.3% |
| 75th | $180,070 | +21.6% |
| 90th | $210,870 | +42.4% |
| Mean | $140,590 | −5.1% |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Boston run 8.3% above the national average, so the median of $135,720 buys what $125,319 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 15.4% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$135,720as reported by BLSLocal price level
108.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$125,319US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $135,720 a year, 8.3% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $87,420 to $210,870 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 100 jobs in this occupation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Air Traffic Controllers in Boston, MA?
The median annual wage is $135,720, or $65.25 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $148,080, so pay in Boston, MA is 8.3% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Boston, MA earns more than $210,870 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $87,420 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 100 jobs in this occupation in Boston, MA. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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