Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 53-5021 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$92,456
$44.45/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The national median salary for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels is $92,456 per year ($44.45/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $63,877 and $127,171 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $170,643 per year. There are approximately 36,850 captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+0.5%
Little or no change
Annual openings
4K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
41K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Inland Water Transportation
NAICS 483200
10K
$105,650
Support Activities for Water Transportation
NAICS 488300
9K
$102,440
Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation
NAICS 483100
5K
$95,610
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water
NAICS 487200
4K
$60,380
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
1K
$88,880
Wage range across top 5 industries: $60,380 to $105,650 (75% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$22.80
$47,424
P25
$30.71
$63,877
P50MEDIAN
$44.45
$92,456
P75
$61.14
$127,171
P90
$82.04
$170,643
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels salary?
The national median salary for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels is $92,456 per year ($44.45/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $63,877 and $127,171 annually.
How much do top-earning captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels make?
The 90th percentile salary for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels is $170,643 per year ($82.04/hr). The 75th percentile is $127,171 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels?
Entry-level Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (10th percentile) earn approximately $47,424 per year ($22.80/hr). The 25th percentile is $63,877 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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