Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of captain salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest captain salary of $57,525
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Maine has the lowest captain salary of $42,501
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The national average salary for captains is $52,161
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The national hourly pay for captains is $25.08
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do captains get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for captain by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for captains after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for captain salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Captains By State
| Rank | State | Average Captain Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $57,525 | $34,000 | $95,000 |
| 2 | Delaware | $57,410 | $33,000 | $97,000 |
| 3 | Hawaii | $56,926 | $47,000 | $68,000 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $56,850 | $33,000 | $96,000 |
| 5 | Maryland | $56,802 | $33,000 | $96,000 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $56,723 | $33,000 | $95,000 |
| 7 | Virginia | $56,090 | $32,000 | $96,000 |
| 8 | New York | $56,065 | $33,000 | $94,000 |
| 9 | Nevada | $54,621 | $33,000 | $89,000 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $54,365 | $32,000 | $91,000 |
| 11 | West Virginia | $54,014 | $31,000 | $92,000 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $53,528 | $31,000 | $90,000 |
| 13 | Arizona | $53,336 | $33,000 | $85,000 |
| 14 | Ohio | $53,228 | $31,000 | $90,000 |
| 15 | Michigan | $52,920 | $31,000 | $89,000 |
| 16 | Oregon | $52,904 | $32,000 | $86,000 |
| 17 | Rhode Island | $52,306 | $31,000 | $87,000 |
| 18 | Alaska | $51,450 | $35,000 | $74,000 |
| 19 | Kentucky | $51,429 | $30,000 | $86,000 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $51,396 | $30,000 | $85,000 |
| 21 | Indiana | $51,205 | $30,000 | $86,000 |
| 22 | Washington | $51,164 | $31,000 | $82,000 |
| 23 | Texas | $51,156 | $31,000 | $82,000 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $51,116 | $31,000 | $82,000 |
| 25 | Florida | $50,692 | $32,000 | $78,000 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | $50,620 | $30,000 | $85,000 |
| 27 | Illinois | $50,608 | $29,000 | $85,000 |
| 28 | Tennessee | $50,552 | $30,000 | $83,000 |
| 29 | Louisiana | $50,311 | $31,000 | $81,000 |
| 30 | Georgia | $50,246 | $30,000 | $82,000 |
| 31 | Alabama | $49,835 | $30,000 | $81,000 |
| 32 | Massachusetts | $49,781 | $29,000 | $83,000 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $49,576 | $30,000 | $80,000 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $49,271 | $29,000 | $81,000 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $49,119 | $30,000 | $79,000 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $49,002 | $30,000 | $78,000 |
| 37 | Missouri | $48,845 | $29,000 | $80,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $48,632 | $29,000 | $81,000 |
| 39 | Utah | $48,521 | $30,000 | $76,000 |
| 40 | Idaho | $48,511 | $30,000 | $77,000 |
| 41 | Kansas | $48,273 | $29,000 | $78,000 |
| 42 | North Dakota | $47,913 | $29,000 | $77,000 |
| 43 | Colorado | $47,637 | $30,000 | $75,000 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $47,326 | $28,000 | $77,000 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $47,200 | $28,000 | $77,000 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | $47,175 | $28,000 | $79,000 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $46,730 | $29,000 | $73,000 |
| 48 | Montana | $46,515 | $29,000 | $73,000 |
| 49 | Vermont | $44,312 | $26,000 | $74,000 |
| 50 | Maine | $42,501 | $25,000 | $70,000 |
Methodology: Captain Salary By State
To better understand captain pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for captains by state.
We took the average annual salary data for captains from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for captains.
Captain Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for captains?
The highest-paid state for captains is California with an average salary of $57,525 per year.
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What city pays captains the most?
San Francisco, CA pays captains the most with an average salary of $59,421 per year.
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What is the worst state for captains?
The worst state for captains is Maine with an average salary of $42,501 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
