Prevailing Wage for Flight Attendants
The prevailing wage for Flight Attendants (SOC 53-2031) is the DOL-mandated minimum a sponsoring employer must pay on an H-1B, E-3, or green card petition. Whether your offer is titled In-Flight Crew Member, Inflight Services Flight Attendant, or Purser, DOL sets four experience-based wage levels, and the floor varies significantly by worksite city.
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Entry-level flight attendants with little or no prior cabin crew experience. Typically new hires completing initial qualification training. Employers file at Level 1 when the role requires only basic instruction and close supervision throughout the assignment.
Qualified flight attendants with one to three years of line experience who work independently on standard routes. Level 2 is the most common filing level for Flight Attendants, covering fully qualified cabin crew holding active safety certifications.
Experienced flight attendants who lead cabin crews, mentor junior staff, or hold senior route assignments on long-haul or international services. Employers file at Level 3 when the role carries meaningful supervisory or specialized service responsibilities.
Fully competent senior cabin crew or Pursers with broad authority over in-flight operations, safety compliance oversight, or fleet-wide service standards. Level 4 filings are rare and typically reserved for lead purser or supervisory specialist designations.
Prevailing Wage for Flight Attendants by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Flight Attendants and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Verify your base wage excludes per-diem pay
Airlines commonly pay flight attendants a separate per-diem or hourly flight-credit rate on top of a base salary. DOL prevailing wage compliance is measured against guaranteed base pay only, so confirm your offer letter separates these components before evaluating clearance.
Check whether your hub city shifts your level
New York and Seattle flight attendant prevailing wages run nearly double those in Las Vegas or Phoenix at every level. If your employer bases you out of a high-cost hub, your offer must clear that metro's OES-derived floor, not the national median.
Watch for Purser title filed under a different SOC
Some carriers file Purser or In-Flight Service Manager roles under supervisory transportation SOC codes instead of SOC 53-2031, which changes the applicable prevailing wage entirely. Confirm the SOC on your LCA matches the Flight Attendants occupation before accepting an offer.
Use Migrate Mate to find airlines with sponsorship history
Migrate Mate filters sponsored flight attendant listings by visa type and shows each airline's historical sponsorship counts, helping you identify which carriers have actually filed H-1B or E-3 petitions for cabin crew roles rather than relying on recruiter claims.
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Find Jobs for Flight AttendantsPrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 53-2031.00 alongside Flight Attendants, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
In-Flight Crew Member Prevailing Wage
In-Flight Crew Member Prevailing Wage
In-Flight Crew Member positions fall under SOC 53-2031.00 (Flight Attendants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Inflight Services Flight Attendant Prevailing Wage
Inflight Services Flight Attendant Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Inflight Services Flight Attendant for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 53-2031.00 (Flight Attendants). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
International Flight Attendant Prevailing Wage
International Flight Attendant Prevailing Wage
International Flight Attendant is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 53-2031.00 (Flight Attendants). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Purser Prevailing Wage
Purser Prevailing Wage
Purser positions fall under SOC 53-2031.00 (Flight Attendants). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Flight Attendants?
DOL derives prevailing wages for Flight Attendants from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics across defined metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. OFLC converts those survey results into four wage levels for SOC 53-2031 and publishes them in the OFLC Wage Search tool. Employers must use the wage that corresponds to the worksite listed on the Labor Condition Application.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I identify mine?
Level 1 covers entry-level crew with minimal experience under close supervision. Level 2 applies to independently qualified flight attendants, which is the level most LCA filings use. Level 3 covers senior or supervisory cabin crew, and Level 4 is reserved for fully competent lead roles such as Purser. Your level should reflect your actual duties and years of line experience, not just your job title.
Why does the same flight attendant role pay so differently by city?
DOL's prevailing wages are built from regional OES surveys, so each metropolitan area produces its own wage floor. A role based in New York is benchmarked against New York area employers, while the same title in Las Vegas reflects that market's survey data. The worksite address on the LCA determines which metro floor applies, and employers must use that figure even if their headquarters is elsewhere.
What happens if my offer falls below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
An employer cannot lawfully certify an LCA for H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 sponsorship if the offered wage falls below the applicable prevailing wage. USCIS will deny the petition, and DOL can investigate and debar employers who file inaccurate LCAs. If an offer is below the floor, the employer must either increase the salary or file at the correct lower level if the duties genuinely support it.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for Flight Attendants in a specific U.S. city?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool and enter SOC code 53-2031 along with the relevant metropolitan area or state. The tool returns the current four-level wage schedule for that location. You can also review published LCA disclosure data through OFLC to see what wages competing carriers have certified for similar roles. Migrate Mate surfaces which airlines have sponsored flight attendants before, letting you cross-reference employer patterns alongside the DOL figures.
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