Air Traffic Controller salary in Philadelphia, PA: $198,590 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 37980), which includes Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Philadelphia city limits. It spans Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Air Traffic Controllers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $198,590 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 53-2021); the OEWS mean annual wage was $177,260. That median is 34% above the U.S. median of $148,080. BLS estimates about 220 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data This metro's estimate does not meet TryHired's reliability rule for rankings (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, a non-degenerate wage distribution), so no rank is shown; the published figures still are.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area at 102.6 (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 Philadelphia, PA.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Philadelphia, PA
- BLS source geography
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 37980
- States
- Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland
- 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). This metro spans more than one state; each state is shown.
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (metro, CBSA 37980) | $198,590 | $177,260 | 220 |
| Pennsylvania (state) | $132,350 | $143,180 | 460 |
| New Jersey (state) | $132,230 | $139,660 | 190 |
| Maryland (state) | $131,290 | $136,220 | 70 |
| United States | $148,080 | $146,490 | 22,510 |
National Air Traffic Controller salary · Careers in Philadelphia, PA.
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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 37980) and SOC 53-2021 (Air Traffic Controllers). Philadelphia, PA 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 philadelphia” (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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