Every year, several different groups provide data regarding the demographics of pilots. Today we have some 2024 numbers from the FAA as well as statistics by generation based on the current membership statistics for the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA).
The FAA publishes annual statistics associated with airman certificate holders. As of December 31, 2024, and including students, 848,770 airman hold certificates. Without the students, there are 503,275 certificated pilots, including recreational, sport, private, commercial, transport, glider, and rotorcraft. CFIs total 138,127, and instrument ratings, 342,400. Remote pilot certificates (which are not included in the airman total) have been obtained by 427,598 people. Nonpilots received 762,502 certificates. This category includes mechanics, repairmen, ground instructors, parachute riggers, flight attendants, flight navigators, and flight engineers.
These statistics also include how many women hold each of these certifications. As you can see in the chart, about 11% of all certificates are held by women. The percentage of students who are women is higher at 16%. If you’re looking for a woman CFI, only about one in ten will fit that bill. In the nonpilot category, women with flight attendant certificates make up almost 80% of the total, and dispatchers 21%, while only 3% of mechanics are women.
Another statistic that can affect how difficult it is to get a job is the location of active pilots. This pie chart makes it easy to see that the majority of pilots are in the Southern (16.8%) and Eastern (16.6% ) areas, with the Western-Pacific (14.8%), Southwest (13.6%), and Great Lakes (13.5%) not too far behind. The Alaskan region has the lowest number of pilots, even though it covers the second largest area (~586,000 square miles). (The largest is the Northwest Mountain with around 687,000 square miles.)
As the largest pilot union in the word, ALPA offers data based on the membership on January 6, 2025, broken down by generation, which can illustrate when the workforce will need an influx of people.
Baby Boomers, who make up 12% of the membership population, or about 9,941 pilots, will retire over the next 4 years. Generation X will retire in the next 5-15 years and has 33,732 ALPA member pilots, or 43%. Those born from 1981-1996, variously known as Millennials or Generation Y, includes 30,789 pilots. Retirement time for this group will come up in 16-29 years (or 2046-2054). The least represented (born 1997-2012 and still only 12 to 27 years old), Gen Z includes 4,626 pilots, or just 6% of the current membership. This group will likely add more members as they continue to move through their education and into flight school.
Featured image photo by Anestiev at Pixabay; featured image illustrations designed by Ibrandify and rawpixel.com via Freepik.
