---
title: American Women Are Getting Into Aviation Younger, and Reversing Years of Decline
description: FAA data shows the average American woman with a private pilot's licence is now 34.9, and women's pilot numbers are up 72 percent since 2016.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-08-03T10:56:53.221Z
updated: 2026-08-03T10:56:53.231Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/women-pilots-younger-faa-data-2025
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/women-pilots-flight-training-73436.webp
categories: Inspiration
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

The average American woman holding a private pilot's licence is 34.9 years old. In 2016 she was 43.1.

That eight-year drop sits in the [FAA's annual count of active airmen](https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics), and the same pattern shows up in the certificates women fly on professionally. The average woman holding a commercial licence is now 34.3, down from 40.8 in 2016. Among women who teach other people to fly, the average has come down from 43.7 to 38.

The number of women in the air has moved just as fast, and in the opposite direction from where it was heading. Leaving student certificates aside, 27,451 American women held a pilot certificate in 2010, and by 2016 that had fallen to 23,216. It now stands at 39,940, a rise of 72 percent in nine years.

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