Flight Maintenance Engineer Salary in the United States

How much does a Flight Maintenance Engineer make in the United States?

As of January 01, 2026, the average salary for a Flight Maintenance Engineer in the United States is $79,908 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $38.

However, a Flight Maintenance Engineer's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $89,311
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $74,016 to $84,830
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $68,652
Compensation Planning
Develop a Job Description
Pay Equity
2025 Compensation Trend
AI-Powered HR
Recruit with AI
View as table View as graph 25% $74,016 10% $68,652 90% $89,311 75% $84,830 $79,908 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Flight Maintenance Engineer Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $84,830 $7,069 $1,631 $41
Average $79,908 $6,659 $1,537 $38
25th Percentile $74,016 $6,168 $1,423 $36
Check out Flight Maintenance Engineer Job Openings in the United States
Facilities Maintenance Technician

United Airlines - CHICAGO, IL

Building Maintenance Engineer

ABM Industries - MINNEAPOLIS, MN

SIGINT Flight Engineer

XMSTART, Inc - AURORA, CO

Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer P3

Beacon Hill - SAINT LOUIS, MO

Search More Flight Maintenance Engineer Jobs in the United States

Key Factors That Influence Flight Maintenance Engineer Salaries

A Flight Maintenance Engineer's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Flight Maintenance Engineer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Flight Maintenance Engineer's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $78,386
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $79,019
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $80,044
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $80,249
  • Expert (over 8 years): $80,386
Levels Salary
Entry Level Flight Maintenance Engineer$78,386
Intermediate Level Flight Maintenance Engineer$79,019
Senior Level Flight Maintenance Engineer$80,044
Specialist Level Flight Maintenance Engineer$80,249
Expert Level Flight Maintenance Engineer$80,386
$78,386 0 yr
$79,019 < 2 yrs
$80,044 2-4 yrs
$80,249 5-8 yrs
$80,386 > 8 yrs
View as Table
View as Graph

What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Flight Maintenance Engineers

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $100,787
  • San Francisco: $99,797
  • Oakland: $97,583

What Skills Can Increase a Flight Maintenance Engineer's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Analysis (Mentioned in 3.28% Job Postings): Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
  • Linux (Mentioned in 3.28% Job Postings): Managing a system's hardware and resources using a Unix-like open-source operating system.
  • Open Source (Mentioned in 2.48% Job Postings): Open source is a term that originally referred to open source software (OSS). Open source software is code that is designed to be publicly accessible—anyone can see, modify, and distribute the code as they see fit
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Analysis 3.28%
Linux 3.28%
Open Source 2.48%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Flight Maintenance Engineer's salary.
  • Open Source: Can increase your salary by up to 17%.
  • Microservices: Can increase your salary by up to 14%.
  • Docker: Can increase your salary by up to 12%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Open Source
$93,492
17%
Microservices
$91,095
14%
Docker
$89,497
12%
Team Operations
$89,497
12%
Ansible
$89,497
12%
Configuration Management
$89,497
12%
Get Latest Data

How Education impacts a Flight Maintenance Engineer's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Flight Maintenance Engineers enter the field with a Associate's Degree degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Flight Maintenance Engineer with a Associate's Degree is between $75,790 and $78,928).

Flight Maintenance Engineer Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Flight Maintenance Engineer
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 2.6%
High School 2.6%
Associates 9.0%
Bachelors 56.4%
Masters 26.9%
Doctorate 5.1%
view as graph

Flight Maintenance Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Flight Maintenance Engineer's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on January 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Flight Maintenance Engineer

Salaries for a Flight Maintenance Engineer can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $83,853 in 2023 to around $81,359 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Flight Maintenance Engineer salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Flight Maintenance Engineer Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$83,853
2024
$82,667
2025
$81,359
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $83,853
2024 $82,667
2025 $81,359
2026
View More
2027
View More

Most common benefits for Flight Maintenance Engineer

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
For Employers

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution.

Compensation Planning

Common company salaries for Flight Maintenance Engineer

Here are companies hiring for Flight Maintenance Engineer and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Flight Maintenance Engineer Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Flight Maintenance Engineer job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

United States
For Employees

Get a Salary Increase

Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.

Search Job Openings

Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.

For Employers

Adjust Employee Salary

Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.

Price My Industry Jobs

Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst