Cadet salary

Average cadet salary

$41,427

$19.92 hourly rate

Entry-level cadet salary
$26,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a cadet make?

The average cadet salary in the United States is $41,427. Cadet salaries typically range between $26,000 and $64,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for cadets is $19.92 per hour.

Cadet salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Cadets earn the highest average salary in New Jersey.

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Where can a Cadet earn more?

Compare salary by location
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84k
64k
44k
24k
4k
Columbus, OH$64,058
West Jordan, UT$34,140
Compare salary by company
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98k
78k
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38k
18k
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University of Houston-Clear Lake$72,219
St. Clair County Community Mental Health$28,258

Cadet salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed and Glassdoor, the average salary for a cadet typically falls between $38,359 and $73,534.
zippia
$41,427yearly
glassdoor[1]
$73,534yearly
indeed[2]
$38,359yearly

Average cadet salary by state

The average cadet salary in New Jersey, Delaware, and New York are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average cadet salary states are Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Nebraska.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for cadets

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New Jersey$64,888$31.20
2Maryland$63,895$30.72
3New York$63,913$30.73
4District of Columbia$63,793$30.67
5Delaware$64,427$30.97
6Connecticut$60,236$28.96
7Rhode Island$56,877$27.34
8Louisiana$49,666$23.88
9Virginia$52,810$25.39
10Nevada$50,070$24.07
11Illinois$54,937$26.41
12Massachusetts$54,166$26.04
13Iowa$51,550$24.78
14Ohio$50,059$24.07
15South Carolina$44,511$21.40
16North Carolina$47,166$22.68
17Michigan$44,895$21.58
18Pennsylvania$49,505$23.80
19New Hampshire$51,005$24.52
20Montana$42,846$20.60
21Minnesota$44,549$21.42
22Kansas$47,860$23.01
23Wyoming$39,592$19.03
24Arizona$41,597$20.00
25South Dakota$43,326$20.83
26Vermont$48,035$23.09
27Washington$42,496$20.43
28Kentucky$44,214$21.26
29Texas$41,039$19.73
30Idaho$39,017$18.76
31West Virginia$43,724$21.02
32Alaska$40,335$19.39
33Alabama$40,730$19.58
34New Mexico$37,328$17.95
35Florida$39,438$18.96
36Wisconsin$40,165$19.31
37Hawaii$44,685$21.48
38Tennessee$38,006$18.27
39California$39,412$18.95
40Georgia$38,565$18.54
41Indiana$39,338$18.91
42Oklahoma$36,546$17.57
43North Dakota$38,811$18.66
44Maine$38,941$18.72
45Utah$34,219$16.45
46Arkansas$36,930$17.75
47Oregon$39,797$19.13
48Missouri$34,937$16.80
49Nebraska$35,342$16.99
50Colorado$33,958$16.33
51Mississippi$35,754$17.19

Highest paying cities for cadets

The highest-paying cities for cadets are Baltimore, MD, Peoria, IL, and Port Huron, MI.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Baltimore, MD$64,058$30.80
2Peoria, IL$52,040$25.02
3Port Huron, MI$44,787$21.53
4Charlotte, NC$44,646$21.46
5Seattle, WA$42,731$20.54
6McAllen, TX$42,562$20.46
7Phoenix, AZ$41,600$20.00
8Oakland, CA$41,354$19.88
9Miami, FL$39,501$18.99
10Indianapolis, IN$39,041$18.77
11Chattanooga, TN$38,287$18.41
12Hobbs, NM$38,179$18.36
13Stillwater, OK$36,370$17.49
14West Jordan, UT$34,140$16.41

Cadet salary details

A cadet's salary ranges from $26,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $64,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Cadet Salary Graph
Average Cadet Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a cadet's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$64,000$5,333$31
75th Percentile$52,000$4,333$25
Average$41,427$3,452$20
25th Percentile$32,000$2,667$15
10th Percentile$26,000$2,167$13

Highest paying cadet jobs

The highest paying types of cadets are deck cadet, deck seaman, and merchant marine.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
Bosun$52,884$4,407$25.43143
Able Bodied Seaman$54,062$4,505$25.99422
Ordinary Seaman$52,664$4,389$25.32169
Tankerman$52,133$4,344$25.06459
Deckhand$56,163$4,680$27.00500
Captain$52,161$4,347$25.084,430

Which companies pay cadets the most?

Cadet salaries at University of Houston-Clear Lake and Advantage Sales & Marketing are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average cadet salary at companies like Carnival Cruise Line and Advantage Solutions are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1University of Houston-Clear Lake$72,219$34.72
2Advantage Sales & Marketing$42,357$20.36
3Carnival Cruise Line$41,872$20.13
4Advantage Solutions$41,481$19.94
5Centerline Logistics$40,046$19.25
6City of Round Rock$39,722$19.10
7The GEO Group$38,029$18.28
8AMIkids$37,851$18.20
9Best Buy$37,658$18.10
10Tennessee Valley Authority$36,795$17.69
11PSA Airlines$36,615$17.60
12Mesa Airlines$35,213$16.93
13Kelly Services$35,055$16.85
14Adams County Government Center$34,296$16.49
15Escambia County Sheriff's Office$33,081$15.90
16Indiana State Police$31,312$15.05
17St. Clair County Community Mental Health$28,258$13.59

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$45,000$44,400$43,800$43,200$42,600$42,000
MaleFemale

Cadet salary trends

The average cadet salary has risen by $7,488 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average cadet earned $33,939 annually, but today, they earn $41,427 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for cadets over the last decade.

Compare cadet salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average cadet salary over time

Compare cadet salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Cadet salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$41,400$19.92+3.2%
2024$40,100$19.28+5.9%
2023$37,700$18.13+0.4%
2022$37,600$18.06-3.3%
2021$38,800$18.65+1.9%

Recently added cadet salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
St. Vincent's Health Australia LimitedMental Health CadetFriendly, MD12/16/2024$60,481
Wilmington UniversityUniversity Safety CadetNew Castle, DE12/13/2024$31,305
City of San Antonio, TxAnimal Care CadetSan Antonio, TX12/10/2024$37,566
County of RedwoodCadetRedwood Falls, MN12/04/2024$39,048
Harris County Esd No 7CadetSpring, TX11/26/2024$61,807
Texas Division of Emergency ManagementTdem Emergency Management Academy CadetSan Antonio, TX11/20/2024$48,189
City of Las Cruces, NmFire Cadet (Non-Certified)Las Cruces, NM10/31/2024$45,136
WapartnershipCadet-Sheriff's OfficeIone, OR10/24/2024$34,623
City of St. Petersburg, FlST. Pete Cadet (Mayor's Future Ready Academy)Saint Petersburg, FL10/22/2024$34,540
Mobile County (AlCorrections CadetMobile, AL10/21/2024$34,886

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