Commercial Pilots Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $94K, rent takes 34.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,044/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,800/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new commercial pilots typically earn — is $47K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,805/month.

Local pay runs 24% below the national median — $94K here vs. $123K nationally.

Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area pays $94K median vs. the U.S. average of $123K — that’s -24%.

The median is $93,770 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $46,750, and experienced commercial pilots can clear $263,000. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,912/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,044/month, which eats 34.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median commercial pilots salary is worth about $93,770 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.