Air Traffic Controller salary in Seattle, WA: $175,280 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 42660), which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Seattle city limits.
Air Traffic Controllers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $175,280 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 53-2021); the OEWS mean annual wage was $163,230. That median is 18% above the U.S. median of $148,080. BLS estimates about 510 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 5 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area at 111.1 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 11% above the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary. Cost of living in Seattle, WA.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Seattle, WA
- BLS source geography
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 42660
- States
- Washington
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (metro, CBSA 42660) | $175,280 | $163,230 | 510 |
| Washington (state) | $162,570 | $154,320 | 620 |
| United States | $148,080 | $146,490 | 22,510 |
National Air Traffic Controller salary · Careers in Seattle, WA.
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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 42660) and SOC 53-2021 (Air Traffic Controllers). Seattle, WA 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 seattle”, “air traffic controller salary near seattle, wa” (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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