SOC 53-2021 · Transportation and Material Moving Occupations · May 2025

How much do Air Traffic Controllers make in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Air Traffic Controllers in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is $198,590. The 10th percentile is $94,310 and the 90th percentile is $225,680. Employment is 220.

Median annual wage

$198,590

10th percentile
$94,310
25th percentile
$133,350
Median
$198,590
75th percentile
$219,160
90th percentile
$225,680
Mean
$177,260

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Portrait of a woman police officer in uniform
A police officer during a United Nations visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 2012. Photograph by Myriam Asmani, MONUSCO. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Percentile spread

For Air Traffic Controllers, the published 10th percentile is $94,310 and the 90th percentile is $225,680. The difference is $131,370, which is 66.2% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $133,350 to the 75th at $219,160, covers $85,810.

The mean annual wage is $177,260, which sits below the median of $198,590. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD median is 34.1% higher than the national median of $148,080 for Air Traffic Controllers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $193,644, which is 30.8% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 50% higher than the Pennsylvania median of $132,350.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD covers more than one state. The state comparison uses Pennsylvania, the primary state on the BLS area record.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is 102.554, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $198,590 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Air Traffic Controllers at $193,644 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

2 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Air Traffic Controllers. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ranks 1st of 3 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is 138 miles away, with a median of $174,870 and employment of 1,800. That median is 11.9% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $160,602, against $193,644 here.
  • Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT is 190 miles away, with a median of $134,700 and employment of 70. That median is 32.2% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $131,100, against $193,644 here.

Employment share

Air Traffic Controllers accounts for 0.01% of wage-and-salary employment in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (220 of 2,897,830). Nationally the occupation is 0.01% of employment (22,510 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.52 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD · Air Traffic Controllers by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Air Traffic Controllers make in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Air Traffic Controllers in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is $198,590. The 10th percentile is $94,310 and the 90th percentile is $225,680. Employment is 220.

How does that compare with the national median for Air Traffic Controllers?

The local median is 34.1% higher than the national median of $148,080.

What is Air Traffic Controllers pay in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is 102.554, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $198,590 is $193,644. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD compare with nearby metros for Air Traffic Controllers?

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 138 miles away, at $174,870. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD ranks 1st of 3 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.