Pilots by state

Name: US Pilot Population Statistics
Creator: Pilot Census
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

Active pilots by state of residence as of 31 December 2025. These are the FAA's own counts, not sampled — a pilot is counted in the state on file with the registry, which is where they live rather than where they fly.

#	State	Pilots	Students	Private	Commercial	ATP	Instructors
1	Florida	97,112	38,122	16,989	15,782	25,538	16,904
2	Texas	82,454	34,177	15,524	11,789	20,490	14,356
3	California	82,437	36,587	20,089	12,171	12,980	11,867
4	Arizona	31,968	13,218	5,992	5,940	6,579	6,441
5	Washington	29,335	12,132	6,133	3,741	7,065	4,942
6	Georgia	28,976	11,668	5,491	3,552	8,057	5,088
7	Colorado	28,080	10,183	5,704	4,058	7,949	5,562
8	North Carolina	23,595	9,019	5,117	3,470	5,785	4,208
9	Illinois	23,394	9,904	4,982	3,031	5,131	4,293
10	New York	23,212	11,589	4,818	3,126	3,531	3,229
11	Ohio	22,032	9,415	5,153	2,937	4,203	3,695
12	Pennsylvania	21,730	9,077	4,790	2,898	4,734	3,564
13	Tennessee	21,250	8,512	4,148	3,135	5,319	3,823
14	Virginia	20,694	8,452	4,215	2,903	4,942	3,609
15	Michigan	19,539	7,901	4,690	2,679	4,020	3,419
16	Minnesota	17,714	6,417	4,199	2,834	4,136	3,629
17	Utah	15,945	5,992	3,283	2,904	3,665	3,280
18	Indiana	15,876	6,985	3,648	2,082	2,921	2,476
19	Missouri	13,964	6,098	3,354	2,077	2,250	2,104
20	Wisconsin	13,695	5,760	3,428	1,725	2,455	2,153
21	New Jersey	13,307	5,881	2,787	1,883	2,708	2,109
22	Oregon	12,961	5,258	3,377	2,442	1,747	2,094
23	South Carolina	12,297	4,727	2,829	1,723	2,913	1,976
24	Oklahoma	12,187	5,768	2,628	1,854	1,872	1,781
25	Nevada	11,539	4,101	2,199	1,768	3,390	2,209
26	Maryland	11,450	5,777	2,140	1,466	1,952	1,671
27	Alabama	11,430	4,970	2,415	2,160	1,798	1,983
28	Massachusetts	11,014	5,287	2,569	1,298	1,779	1,434
29	Kentucky	9,578	4,043	1,907	1,188	2,363	1,554
30	Kansas	9,240	3,717	2,465	1,527	1,432	1,528
31	Idaho	9,073	3,531	2,261	1,473	1,704	1,623
32	Arkansas	8,205	3,896	1,780	1,282	1,142	1,044
33	Louisiana	7,712	3,589	1,655	1,208	1,182	1,008
34	Iowa	7,145	3,042	1,990	1,124	877	1,023
35	Mississippi	6,156	2,747	1,386	905	1,074	796
36	Connecticut	6,113	2,426	1,478	823	1,356	990
37	Montana	5,857	2,344	1,519	1,021	922	944
38	New Mexico	5,470	2,386	1,398	968	636	584
39	Hawaii	5,280	1,960	754	971	1,573	1,048
40	Nebraska	5,219	2,344	1,281	825	726	729
41	New Hampshire	4,976	1,785	1,007	640	1,474	980
42	North Dakota	4,352	2,089	1,017	879	337	640
43	South Dakota	3,373	1,292	819	636	559	592
44	Maine	3,220	1,297	816	485	565	451
45	Wyoming	2,892	1,286	764	410	406	398
46	West Virginia	2,696	1,311	601	371	368	385
47	Delaware	1,930	817	368	245	487	323
48	Vermont	1,789	789	445	300	245	274
49	Rhode Island	1,481	724	302	201	247	197
50	District of Columbia	988	462	235	86	198	140