Air Traffic Controller salary in Dallas, TX: $186,510 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 19100), which includes Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Dallas city limits.
Air Traffic Controllers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $186,510 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 53-2021); the OEWS mean annual wage was $173,430. That median is 26% above the U.S. median of $148,080. BLS estimates about 800 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data Among the 8 metro areas whose estimate for this occupation meets TryHired's reliability rule, this metro ranks 3 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area at 103.1 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 3% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in Dallas, TX.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Dallas, TX
- BLS source geography
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 19100
- States
- Texas
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 53-2021), same BLS release (May 2025).
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (metro, CBSA 19100) | $186,510 | $173,430 | 800 |
| Texas (state) | $170,080 | $156,370 | 2,060 |
| United States | $148,080 | $146,490 | 22,510 |
Air Traffic Controller salary in Texas · National Air Traffic Controller salary · Careers in Dallas, TX.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +1.7% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 19100) and SOC 53-2021 (Air Traffic Controllers). Dallas, TX is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “air traffic controller salary dallas”, “dfw air traffic controller salary”, “air traffic controller salary dfw” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
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