SOC 53-2011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers — Riverside
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA · 5 metro areas compared
Median pay for this occupation in Riverside, CA is $207,000 a year, trailing the national median of $232,140 by 10.8%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow about as fast as average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +3.9%
- Openings per year
- 11,700
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA.
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 Riverside, CA is $207,000 a year, trailing the national median of $232,140 by 10.8%. Half of workers earn between $166,320 and $337,880. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $153,630 and the ninetieth at $363,200.
The area has 160 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.14 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. San Francisco leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $374,680. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 9th of 671 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $153,630 | −33.8% |
| 25th | $166,320 | −28.4% |
| Median (50th) | $207,000 | −10.8% |
| 75th | $337,880 | +45.6% |
| 90th | $363,200 | +56.5% |
| Mean | $252,590 | +8.8% |
Other metro areas in California
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | $374,680 | 2,900 | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $364,730 | 6,710 | |
| 3 | San Jose | $343,140 | 50 | |
| 4 | San Diego | $321,950 | 340 | |
| 5 | Fresno | $195,310 | 80 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Riverside run 6.4% above the national average, so the median of $207,000 buys what $194,549 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 16.2% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$207,000as reported by BLSLocal price level
106.4US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$194,549US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $207,000 a year, 10.8% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $153,630 to $363,200 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 160 jobs in this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is San Francisco, at $374,680.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers in Riverside, CA?
The median annual wage is $207,000, 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 $232,140, so pay in Riverside, CA is 10.8% 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 Riverside, CA earns more than $363,200 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $153,630 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.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in San Francisco, at $374,680 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 160 jobs in this occupation in Riverside, CA. 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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