Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $69K, rent takes 24.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,085/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,839/month. At HUD’s $1,085/month FMR, rent would take 59% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $69K here vs. $92K nationally. Cost of living is 12% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Alabama pays $69K median vs. the U.S. average of $92K — that’s -25%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.36), the purchasing-power equivalent is $78K — below the national median.

The median is $68,920 a year, that works out to about $33 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $30,650, and experienced captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels can clear $123,860. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,466/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,085/month, which eats 24.3% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Alabama has a Regional Price Parity of 88.36 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels salary is worth about $77,999 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.