Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of controller salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest controller salary of $121,130
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Hawaii has the lowest controller salary of $73,288
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The national average salary for controllers is $101,204
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The national hourly pay for controllers is $48.66
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 controllers 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 controller 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 controllers after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for controller salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Controllers By State
| Rank | State | Average Controller Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $121,130 | $83,000 | $174,000 |
| 2 | Maine | $120,935 | $84,000 | $173,000 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $113,532 | $78,000 | $163,000 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $112,957 | $78,000 | $162,000 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $112,665 | $78,000 | $162,000 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $110,716 | $76,000 | $159,000 |
| 7 | California | $109,990 | $75,000 | $160,000 |
| 8 | Maryland | $103,680 | $72,000 | $149,000 |
| 9 | Washington | $103,219 | $72,000 | $146,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $102,998 | $71,000 | $148,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | $102,436 | $71,000 | $146,000 |
| 12 | Delaware | $101,298 | $70,000 | $145,000 |
| 13 | Vermont | $100,279 | $69,000 | $144,000 |
| 14 | Nevada | $99,332 | $68,000 | $144,000 |
| 15 | Oregon | $97,335 | $68,000 | $138,000 |
| 16 | Arizona | $94,788 | $65,000 | $136,000 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | $93,883 | $65,000 | $135,000 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $93,603 | $65,000 | $133,000 |
| 19 | Michigan | $93,537 | $64,000 | $135,000 |
| 20 | Montana | $93,432 | $66,000 | $131,000 |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $93,300 | $64,000 | $134,000 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $92,624 | $65,000 | $131,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $91,557 | $63,000 | $131,000 |
| 24 | Texas | $90,395 | $63,000 | $129,000 |
| 25 | Ohio | $88,922 | $61,000 | $128,000 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $88,240 | $61,000 | $126,000 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $88,092 | $62,000 | $124,000 |
| 28 | Indiana | $86,083 | $59,000 | $123,000 |
| 29 | Utah | $85,460 | $59,000 | $122,000 |
| 30 | Missouri | $85,316 | $59,000 | $121,000 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $85,133 | $59,000 | $121,000 |
| 32 | Colorado | $84,632 | $59,000 | $120,000 |
| 33 | South Dakota | $84,011 | $59,000 | $119,000 |
| 34 | Georgia | $83,857 | $59,000 | $118,000 |
| 35 | Idaho | $83,350 | $58,000 | $119,000 |
| 36 | West Virginia | $83,291 | $57,000 | $119,000 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $82,888 | $57,000 | $118,000 |
| 38 | Kansas | $82,183 | $57,000 | $117,000 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $80,993 | $57,000 | $113,000 |
| 40 | Alabama | $80,937 | $57,000 | $114,000 |
| 41 | Iowa | $79,906 | $56,000 | $114,000 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $79,492 | $55,000 | $113,000 |
| 43 | Florida | $79,454 | $55,000 | $112,000 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $78,599 | $55,000 | $111,000 |
| 45 | New Mexico | $78,419 | $54,000 | $112,000 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $78,254 | $55,000 | $111,000 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $76,256 | $53,000 | $108,000 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $76,218 | $53,000 | $108,000 |
| 49 | Alaska | $75,847 | $59,000 | $96,000 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $73,288 | $56,000 | $94,000 |
Methodology: Controller Salary By State
To better understand controller 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 controllers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for controllers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for controllers.
Controller Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for controllers?
The highest-paid state for controllers is New York with an average salary of $121,130 per year.
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What city pays controllers the most?
Portland, ME pays controllers the most with an average salary of $121,606 per year.
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What is the worst state for controllers?
The worst state for controllers is Hawaii with an average salary of $73,288 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.
