A person working as a Flight Attendant in United States typically earns around 67,900 USD per year. Salaries range from 35,300 USD (lowest) to 104,000 USD (highest).
This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Flight Attendant salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Flight Attendant salaries in United States range from 35,300 USD per year (minimum salary) to 104,000 USD per year (maximum salary).
The median salary is 65,200 USD per year, which means that half (50%) of people working as Flight Attendant(s) are earning less than 65,200 USD while the other half are earning more than 65,200 USD. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Flight Attendant(s) are earning less than 45,200 USD while 75% of them are earning more than 45,200 USD. Also from the diagram, 75% of Flight Attendant(s) are earning less than 81,100 USD while 25% are earning more than 81,100 USD.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Flight Attendant salaries by experience level and this is what we found.
A Flight Attendant with less than two years of experience makes approximately 40,100 USD per year.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 53,800 USD per year, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 69,900 USD per year, 30% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, Flight Attendant(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 84,700 USD per year, 21% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 92,600 USD per year, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 97,400 USD per year, 5% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
0 - 2 Years | 40,100 USD | |
2 - 5 Years | +34% | 53,800 USD |
5 - 10 Years | +30% | 69,900 USD |
10 - 15 Years | +21% | 84,700 USD |
15 - 20 Years | +9% | 92,600 USD |
20+ Years | +5% | 97,400 USD |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Flight Attendant salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.
When the education level is Certificate or Diploma, the average salary of a Flight Attendant is 47,700 USD per year.
While someone with a Bachelor's Degree gets a salary of 72,300 USD per year, 52% more than someone having a Certificate or Diploma degree.
A Master's Degree gets its holder an average salary of 103,000 USD per year, 42% more than someone with a Bachelor's Degree.
Certificate or Diploma | 47,700 USD | |
Bachelor's Degree | +52% | 72,300 USD |
Master's Degree | +42% | 103,000 USD |
A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in United States costs anywhere from 39,500 US Dollar(s) to 118,000 US Dollar(s) and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.
You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.
Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch into a higher paying job. The numbers seem to support the thoery. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.
If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Flight Attendant employees in United States earn 5% less than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 66,300 USD | |
Female | +5% | 69,700 USD |
Flight Attendant(s) in United States are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 11% every 15 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 16 months.
The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency
Banking | 4% | |
Energy | 8% | |
Information Technology | 3% | |
Healthcare | 7% | |
Travel | 2% | |
Construction | 6% | |
Education | 1% |
Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in United States for the year 2021. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. These figures tend to change frequently.
A Flight Attendant is considered to be a moderate bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
46% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 54% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 5% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 54% | |
No Bonus | 46% |
The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The average salary for Flight Attendant is 30% less than that of Airlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense. Also, Airlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense salaries are 2% more than those of All Jobs.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Aeronautical Engineer | 101,000 USD | ![]() |
Aerospace Engineer | 128,000 USD | ![]() |
Aerospace Technician | 93,500 USD | ![]() |
Air Crew Officer | 65,800 USD | ![]() |
Air Traffic Assistant | 54,700 USD | ![]() |
Air Traffic Controller | 103,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Captain | 152,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Electrician | 53,600 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Engineer | 101,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Fueler | 46,200 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Maintenance Manager | 150,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor | 101,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Maintenance Technician | 48,000 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Mechanic | 51,500 USD | ![]() |
Aircraft Quality Assurance | 133,000 USD | ![]() |
Airfield Management Specialist | 147,000 USD | ![]() |
Airfield Operations Specialist | 114,000 USD | ![]() |
Airline Cabin Crew | 102,000 USD | ![]() |
Airline Copilot | 103,000 USD | ![]() |
Airlines Sales Manager | 169,000 USD | ![]() |
Airlines Structural Assembler | 42,600 USD | ![]() |
Airport Services Agent | 65,700 USD | ![]() |
Airport Services Manager | 196,000 USD | ![]() |
Assistant Aircraft Mechanic | 41,100 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Analyst | 127,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Inspector | 112,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Manager | 203,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Operations Controller | 110,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Resources Manager | 178,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Safety Manager | 188,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Safety Officer | 104,000 USD | ![]() |
Aviation Technician | 47,800 USD | ![]() |
Cargo Executive | 92,100 USD | ![]() |
Chief Pilot | 172,000 USD | ![]() |
First Officer | 69,400 USD | ![]() |
Fleet Management Officer | 66,300 USD | ![]() |
Flight Attendant | 67,900 USD | ![]() |
Flight Scheduler | 76,900 USD | ![]() |
Flight Simulation Engineer | 86,300 USD | ![]() |
Freight and Cargo Inspector | 70,600 USD | ![]() |
Helicopter Pilot | 106,000 USD | ![]() |
Loading Bridge Operator | 41,800 USD | ![]() |
Pilot | 161,000 USD | ![]() |
Ramp Agent | 44,400 USD | ![]() |
Reservations Sales Agent | 52,400 USD | ![]() |
Safety and Quality Specialist | 101,000 USD | ![]() |
Test Pilot | 120,000 USD | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Atlanta | 62,900 USD |
Austin | 74,700 USD |
Baltimore | 64,900 USD |
Boston | 66,500 USD |
Bristol | 53,700 USD |
Chicago | 78,200 USD |
Cincinnati | 54,100 USD |
Cleveland | 57,500 USD |
Dallas | 70,500 USD |
Denver | 71,300 USD |
Detroit | 69,300 USD |
Honolulu | 54,700 USD |
Houston | 77,500 USD |
Indianapolis | 67,300 USD |
Iowa City | 51,600 USD |
Jacksonville | 68,600 USD |
Kansas City | 60,400 USD |
Kent | 53,600 USD |
Las Vegas | 65,600 USD |
Long Beach | 59,200 USD |
Los Angeles | 78,800 USD |
Memphis | 68,600 USD |
Miami | 63,100 USD |
Minneapolis | 58,800 USD |
New Orleans | 59,600 USD |
New York | 77,500 USD |
Oakland | 62,500 USD |
Oklahoma City | 62,900 USD |
Orlando | 53,500 USD |
Philadelphia | 72,400 USD |
Phoenix | 73,000 USD |
Sacramento | 62,600 USD |
San Antonio | 73,600 USD |
San Diego | 73,000 USD |
San Francisco | 73,300 USD |
San Jose | 69,900 USD |
Seattle | 70,200 USD |
Tampa | 58,300 USD |
Vancouver | 57,000 USD |
Washington D.C. | 67,200 USD |
State | Average Salary |
Alabama | 66,500 USD |
Alaska | 56,600 USD |
Arizona | 72,600 USD |
Arkansas | 65,600 USD |
California | 73,000 USD |
Colorado | 64,200 USD |
Connecticut | 67,200 USD |
Delaware | 60,900 USD |
District of Columbia | 58,100 USD |
Florida | 70,500 USD |
Georgia | 74,700 USD |
Hawaii | 62,300 USD |
Idaho | 60,700 USD |
Illinois | 69,900 USD |
Indiana | 72,000 USD |
Iowa | 64,900 USD |
Kansas | 63,300 USD |
Kentucky | 63,600 USD |
Louisiana | 68,600 USD |
Maine | 61,600 USD |
Maryland | 67,800 USD |
Massachusetts | 66,100 USD |
Michigan | 74,000 USD |
Minnesota | 68,200 USD |
Mississippi | 62,600 USD |
Missouri | 65,400 USD |
Montana | 62,500 USD |
Nebraska | 62,900 USD |
Nevada | 62,600 USD |
New Hampshire | 58,500 USD |
New Jersey | 73,300 USD |
New Mexico | 63,600 USD |
New York | 72,300 USD |
North Carolina | 68,600 USD |
North Dakota | 60,400 USD |
Ohio | 72,900 USD |
Oklahoma | 64,600 USD |
Oregon | 62,900 USD |
Pennsylvania | 75,400 USD |
Rhode Island | 60,300 USD |
South Carolina | 65,900 USD |
South Dakota | 57,300 USD |
Tennessee | 72,000 USD |
Texas | 74,900 USD |
Utah | 62,000 USD |
Vermont | 56,000 USD |
Virginia | 73,300 USD |
Washington | 70,900 USD |
West Virginia | 61,400 USD |
Wisconsin | 65,400 USD |
Wyoming | 59,700 USD |
Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? Public sector employees in United States earn 5% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors.
Private Sector | 92,400 USD | |
Public Sector | +5% | 97,100 USD |