Average Flight Attendants Salary in the United States
The national median salary for Flight Attendants is $63,580 per year. The middle 50% earn between $51,760 and $95,640, with 131,650 workers employed nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 20 states and 28 metro areas.
Pay distribution
Here is how Flight Attendants pay is distributed across workers nationally. The 10th percentile typically reflects entry-level or early-career pay, the median is the midpoint, and the 90th percentile represents the top earners in the field.
- 10th
- $35,110
- 25th
- $51,760
- Median
- $63,580
- 75th
- $95,640
- 90th
- $136,430
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
Flight Attendants earn close to the national median for all US workers. Solidly middle-income.
The pay band is unusually wide for this occupation. Experience, employer, and specialization can double or even triple an early-career salary, so what flight attendants earn depends heavily on where they are in their career and who they work for.
Job outlook
BLS projects employment for flight attendants from 2024 to 2034. Flight Attendants are projected to grow much faster than average, more than double the roughly 4% growth rate for all US occupations. Demand is strong and outpacing most of the labor market.
- Projected growth
- +9.2%
- 12,100 net jobs over the projection period.
- Annual openings
- 19,800
- Includes growth plus replacements for workers who leave. Annual openings are high relative to the workforce size, reflecting meaningful turnover and new-hire volume.
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
A high-school diploma is typically sufficient for entry, with much of the training happening on the job.
Where Flight Attendants earn the most
Location matters a lot. The gap between top-paying and bottom-paying states is large, so where flight attendants work can reshape their total compensation. Right now, the top-paying state is New York at $126,650, about 99.2% above the national median. At the metro level, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ leads with a median of $127,740.
Top-paying states
| State | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $126,650 | 12,060 |
| Utah | $82,730 | 2,490 |
| California | $82,170 | 15,840 |
| Georgia | $78,320 | N/A |
| Connecticut | $78,180 | 250 |
| Washington | $74,090 | N/A |
| Michigan | $62,490 | N/A |
| Ohio | $62,440 | 990 |
Top-paying metros
| Metro area | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $127,740 | 18,030 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $89,430 | 4,420 |
| Columbus, OH | $83,450 | 290 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $82,730 | N/A |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $79,390 | 10,080 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $78,320 | N/A |
| Tucson, AZ | $75,610 | N/A |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $75,100 | N/A |
Compare two locations side by side
Pick two states or metros to see flight attendants pay in each, along with a cost-of-living adjusted view.
Salary trend and related occupations
Between 2019 and 2025, the national median salary for Flight Attendants rose from $56,640 to $63,580, a gain of +12.3% in nominal dollars.
Over the same period, US consumer prices rose by +25.9%. Just to keep pace with inflation, the 2019 median of $56,640 would need to be worth $71,325 in 2025 dollars.
The actual 2025 median of $63,580 is −$7,745 below that inflation-adjusted benchmark, a real change of -10.9% in purchasing power.
Adjusted for inflation, pay has lost ground. Nominal growth of 12.3% has not kept up with rising prices.
- Nominal change
- +12.3%
- 2019–2025
- Cumulative inflation
- +25.9%
- US CPI, 2019–2025
- Real change
- -10.9%
- After adjusting for inflation
Median salary over time
Flight Attendants median pay by year, going back through the available BLS releases.
- 2025
- $63,580
- 2024
- $67,130
- 2023
- $68,370
- 2022
- $63,760
- 2021
- $61,640
- 2020
- $59,050
- 2019
- $56,640
BLS did not publish a median for 2000–2018, so those years are omitted.
Related occupations
Other occupations in the same field, with median pay for comparison.
- Airfield Operations Specialists
- $56,850
- Commercial Pilots
- $123,220
- Air Traffic Controllers
- $148,080
- Traffic Technicians
- $59,090
Common salary questions for Flight Attendants
What does the median salary mean? +
The median is the midpoint of all wages. Half of Flight Attendants workers earn more and half earn less. It is a better measure of typical pay than the average, which can be skewed by very high or very low earners.
Why does pay vary so much by location? +
Local labor markets, cost of living, industry concentration, and employer competition all affect wages. High-cost metros like San Francisco and New York often pay more in nominal terms, though some of that premium is offset by higher living costs.
How current is this salary data? +
This page uses the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. BLS publishes OEWS data once per year, typically in the spring for the previous May reference period.
What do the percentile ranges tell me? +
The 10th and 90th percentiles show the full pay band. The 25th to 75th percentile range, the middle 50%, is where most workers fall. A wide spread usually means experience, specialization, or location matter a lot for this occupation.