SCT

Southern California TRACON

FAA Approach Control San Diego, California

Facility Information

Facility Overview
Identifier SCT
Facility Name Southern California TRACON
Type Approach Control
Leveli Level 12
Airspace & Operations
Hours of Operationi 0000-2359 (always open)
Overlying ARTCC ZLA

Salary Information

2026 Pay for Southern California TRACON

Career Leveli Hourly Min. Hourly Max. Salary Min. Salary Max.i
CPC $88.93 $115.54 $185,592 $241,138
D3 $74.65 $88.93 $155,785 $185,592
D2 $60.37 $74.65 $125,982 $155,785
D1 $46.08 $60.37 $96,171 $125,982
AG $31.80 $31.80 $66,363 $66,363
Includes everything except premium pay.

ATC pay has stalled over the past decade. Marangos & Brown are on a mission to increase pay.

Pay Factors
Facility Leveli Level 12
Locality Area San Diego
Locality Payi 33.72%
Controller Incentive Pay (CIP)i 7.40%
Local Affordability
Cost of Living Indexi 111.9 (11.9% above avg)
Cost-Adjusted CPC Mini $165,870

Staffing and Training

Staffing Information, June 2026
CPCs on Boardi 187 CPCs
CPC Target (CWP)i 215 CPCs
Current Staffingi 85%
↳ Est. Trainee Certifications+ 15.8
↳ Committed Inbounds+ 3
↳ Placement List Inbounds+ 1
↳ Temporary Inbounds+ 5
↳ Projected Retirements/Losses- 20.9
↳ Academy Graduates2
↳ CPC-IT 0 (Transfer)8
↳ CPC-IT 1 (Transfer)3
↳ CPC-IT 2 (Transfer)5
↳ CPC-IT 3 (Transfer)3
Training Information, June 2026
Training Time (Avg)i 1.77 years
↳ New Hires 2 years
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 1.75 years
Training Success Rate (Avg)i 75%
↳ New Hires 94%
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 74%
Travel Days from Academyi 3 days

Historical Trends

SCT Staffing Percentages

SCT Personnel Counts

SCT Training Metrics

NCEPT

NCEPT manages controller-requested transfers between FAA facilities.

Eligibility & Staffing, June 2026
Staffing Sourcei Non-Academy Sourced
Incentive Awardi $30,000
↳ Geographical Incentivei + $10,000
TSL (One Training Time)i 91.24%
Gaining Targeti 91.24%
Possible Gainsi 17
Primary Releases Avail.i 0
Secondary Releases Avail.i 0
Transfer Activity
Releases, Past 3 Yrs 4
↳ Standardi 0
↳ Priority/Otheri 4
Gains, Past 3 Yrsi 26
Last Standard Releasei None in 3+ years
ERR Demand History
Priority / Draft Order
Mar 2026
#14
Inbound ERRs on File
Feb 2026
25
Employees with Outbound ERRs
Feb 2026
5 (2.7%)

Demand Trends

NCEPT Priority

Traffic

May 2025 - April 2026 (12 Months)
TRACON Operations 2,256,966 operations/year
Average Daily Operations 6,183 operations/day
Peer Group Median
(Lvl 12 TRACON)
1,362,282 operations/year
Relative Workloadi +65.7% vs peer median

Traffic History

Administration

Organizational Structure
Service Area Western
District Los Angeles
HR Region Western Pacific

Nearest Facilities

NKX Miramar MCAS (Joe Foss Fld) DoD 2 mi
MYF Montgomery Tower FAA 5 mi
SEE Gillespie Tower FAA 10 mi
SAN San Diego Tower FAA 12 mi
NZY North Island NAS (Halsey Fld) DoD 14 mi
RNM Ramona Tower FCT 16 mi
CRQ Palomar Tower FAA 19 mi
NRS Imperial Beach Tower DoD 22 mi
SDM Brown Tower FCT 23 mi
NFG Camp Pendleton MCAS (Munn Fld) DoD 31 mi