How Much Money Do Air Traffic Managers Make a Year?
Air traffic managers, more commonly referred to as air traffic controllers, monitor and coordinate the flow of commercial and private air traffic through the skies. Their essential task is to ensure that planes land safely. It's a job with a high degree of responsibility that requires years of training and for which they are very well paid. Qualified air traffic controllers typically earned more than 2.5 times the $45,230 mean wage for all occupations in May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average Annual Salary
Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that air traffic controllers earned a mean annual wage of $114,460 in May 2011. The best-paid 10 percent of workers in the profession earned $169,160 a year or more at this time, while the worst-paid 10 percent had to make do with $61,650 a year or less. The median salary of air traffic controllers in May 2011 was $113,540 a year.
By industry, air traffic controllers working for the executive branch of the federal government were the best-paid for their work in May 2011, according to the BLS. They took home a mean annual wage of $117,300 at year at this time. Their colleagues working at junior colleges and scheduled air transportation earned mean annual salaries of $113,250 a year and $81,740 a year, respectively, in May 2011, making them the second and third best-paid workers in the profession. Air traffic controllers working in local government earned $52,770 during that period.
The District of Columbia was the most profitable place to work as an air traffic controller in May 2011. Those plying their trade as an air traffic controller in D.C. at this time earned a mean annual salary of $138,560. Air traffic controllers working in New Hampshire and Illinois earned $135,650 and $132,060 a year at that time, while those based in Alaska took home a relatively modest $96,270 a year, BLS data shows.
Metro and Non-Metro Areas
Air traffic controllers working in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Illinois, area earned $142,440 a year in May 2011, making them the best-paid workers in the profession by metro area. The best-paid air traffic controllers working in a non-metro area were based in Southeast Alabama in May 2011, according to the BLS. They earned a mean annual wage of $95,460 a year.
2016 Salary Information for Air Traffic Controllers
Air traffic controllers earned a median annual salary of $122,410 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, air traffic controllers earned a 25th percentile salary of $84,730, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $149,230, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 24,900 people were employed in the U.S. as air traffic controllers.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Air Traffic Controllers
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Air Traffic Controllers, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Air Traffic Controllers
- Career Trend: Air Traffic Controllers
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