Passenger Attendants Salary: $45,510 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 25,340 passenger attendants nationally earn a mean of $45,510. Employment in the series shown rose about 13% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 5.7% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Passenger Attendants: what the data shows
Common questions about passenger attendants careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a passenger attendants?
Passenger Attendants is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 53-6061.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 25,340 workers.
What does a passenger attendants do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Assisting and Caring for Others, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a passenger attendants make?
BLS national median annual wage: $37,560 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $45,510 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,652 |
| 25th percentile | $36,937 |
| Median (50th) | $41,884 |
| 75th percentile | $51,646 |
| 90th percentile | $61,561 |
What education do you need?
For Passenger Attendants, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Service Orientation, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, and knowledge areas including Transportation, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Public Safety and Security. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is passenger attendants in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 5.7% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 31.7%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 73.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 25,340.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do passenger attendantss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 25,340 | 20.8% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 23,850 | 19.6% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 21,180 | 17.4% |
| Support Activities for Transportation | 15,200 | 12.5% |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation | 14,930 | 12.3% |
| Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | 2,810 | 2.3% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Passenger Attendants in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Passenger Attendants workforce.
Employment Over Time
25,340 Workforce in 2023
The Passenger Attendants workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Passenger Attendants.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$45,510 Average Wage
In 2023, Passenger Attendants earned an average of $45,510.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Passenger Attendants.
Salary distribution for Passenger Attendants.
Employment Growth Projections
5.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
17,697 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 31.7%
23,302 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 73.4%
This occupation is projected to grow at 5.7% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Passenger Attendants.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Passenger Attendants and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Passenger Attendants employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Passenger Attendants.
Wage Trends by Industry
10.2% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Passenger Attendants.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Passenger Attendants.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 4,790 employees, $31,390 avg wage
- CA: 3,550 employees, $44,430 avg wage
- NY: 3,440 employees, $41,230 avg wage
- FL: 1,920 employees, $36,000 avg wage
- NJ: 1,240 employees, $40,250 avg wage
- MA: 1,060 employees, $40,490 avg wage
- IL: 950 employees, $34,040 avg wage
- DC: 770 employees, $49,970 avg wage
- HI: 690 employees, $41,880 avg wage
- WA: 540 employees, $45,180 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Passenger Attendants.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 4,180 employees, $40,860 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,760 employees, $45,340 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 1,390 employees, $31,730 avg wage
- Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO: 1,310 employees, $37,070 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 910 employees, $39,420 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 890 employees, $37,360 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 840 employees, $48,690 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 760 employees, $31,980 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 520 employees, $44,800 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 520 employees, $45,100 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Passenger Attendants.
Diversity
Demographic information on Passenger Attendants in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Passenger Attendants in 2023 was 25,340 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Passenger Attendants.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Passenger Attendants.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Passenger Attendants.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Passenger Attendants in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Passenger Attendants.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Passenger Attendants workers.
Education level distribution for Passenger Attendants.
Skills
Passenger Attendants need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring.
Required skills for Passenger Attendants.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Passenger Attendants.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Passenger Attendants include Transportation, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Public Safety and Security, Psychology.
Knowledge areas required for Passenger Attendants.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Passenger Attendants include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Passenger Attendants.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Passenger Attendants.
Daily Activities
Passenger Attendants spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Assisting and Caring for Others, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Passenger Attendants.
About
Passenger Attendants
The average yearly wage for Passenger Attendants was $45,510 in 2023.
SOC Code
53-6061 - Passenger Attendants
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Passenger Attendants reports an average salary of $45,510.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 25,340 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 5.7%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.