Passenger Attendants salary

SOC 53-6061 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$37,720

per year, nationally

Middle half

$31,240–$41,680

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

27,110

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+4.7%

4,100 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$27,970$46,590

10th: $27,970
25th: $31,240
Median: $37,720
75th: $41,680
90th: $46,590

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where passenger attendants earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Alaska	$54,290	102.4	220	3.94×
2	District of Columbia	$52,730	109.9	710	5.79×
3	Kentucky	$44,810	90.2	—	—
4	Massachusetts	$43,350	105.8	1,330	2.09×
5	California	$43,340	110.7	2,810	0.89×
6	Hawaii	$42,360	110.0	610	5.55×
7	Washington	$41,760	107.0	900	1.45×
8	New York	$41,590	107.9	3,190	1.89×
9	Michigan	$40,250	96.2	840	1.09×
10	Oregon	$39,910	103.4	—	—
11	New Jersey	$39,760	108.8	640	0.86×
12	Illinois	$38,930	100.0	1,700	1.60×
13	Virginia	$38,810	101.1	70	0.09×
14	Colorado	$37,550	103.1	870	1.73×
15	Arizona	$36,820	100.7	250	0.45×
16	North Carolina	$35,740	94.3	110	0.13×
17	Connecticut	$34,320	103.6	110	0.36×
18	Missouri	$34,110	90.8	480	0.93×
19	Maryland	$33,350	105.0	950	1.97×
20	Pennsylvania	$33,000	97.6	500	0.48×
21	Oklahoma	$32,920	87.8	40	0.14×
22	Nevada	$32,130	100.0	90	0.35×
23	Texas	$31,230	97.1	5,170	2.11×
24	Florida	$29,680	103.4	2,590	1.50×
25	South Carolina	$28,710	93.7	120	0.29×
26	Tennessee	$27,380	91.9	300	0.53×
27	Georgia	$26,330	96.3	—	—
28	Ohio	$26,220	92.8	—	—
29	Utah	$25,840	98.9	370	1.23×
30	Wisconsin	$24,650	94.1	330	0.64×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where passenger attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for passenger attendants

The 35 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$49,190	108.9	790	1.44×
2	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$44,810	95.4	70	0.38×
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$44,800	115.6	510	1.24×
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$43,580	110.4	120	0.62×
5	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$43,350	108.3	1,150	2.45×
6	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$42,360	109.4	200	15.89×
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$41,760	111.1	820	2.26×
8	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$41,590	112.6	3,410	2.06×
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$39,920	105.4	—	—
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$39,460	113.6	1,200	1.10×
11	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$39,100	111.9	330	1.23×
12	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$38,530	100.9	—	—
13	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$38,250	101.4	670	2.70×
14	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$37,970	108.8	30	0.90×
15	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$37,770	102.6	120	0.24×
16	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$37,680	106.7	130	0.68×
17	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$37,550	105.8	780	2.79×
18	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$36,810	103.3	210	0.50×
19	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$35,740	97.3	40	0.18×
20	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$35,030	100.2	90	0.43×
21	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$34,750	106.4	150	0.52×
22	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	$34,180	94.7	390	2.01×
23	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$33,350	104.5	710	2.99×
24	Kansas City, MO-KS	$32,900	92.5	140	0.72×
25	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$32,240	95.8	70	0.77×
26	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$31,750	114.2	990	2.01×
27	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$31,240	98.6	1,780	3.11×
28	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$30,440	103.1	—	—
29	Charleston-North Charleston, SC	$28,710	101.0	—	—
30	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$27,390	100.9	540	2.15×
31	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$27,380	92.2	120	1.11×
32	El Paso, TX	$26,410	89.9	40	0.69×
33	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$26,330	100.1	—	—
34	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$26,140	96.9	200	1.39×
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$23,490	96.3	—	—

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where passenger attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Parking Attendants$35,150
Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$35,670
Aircraft Service Attendants$40,450
Transportation Inspectors$92,100
Transportation Workers, All Other$45,650
Traffic Technicians$59,090
Bridge and Lock Tenders$57,700