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San Carlos Tower

Federal Contract ATC Tower San Carlos, California

Facility Information

Facility Overview
Identifier SQL
Facility Name San Carlos Tower
Airport Name San Carlos
Type Contract Tower
Contractor Robinson Aviation (RVA)
Airspace & Operations
Hours of Operation 0700-2100
Airspace Class Class D
Approach/Departure NCT
Overlying ARTCC ZOA
Airport Diagram Airport Diagram (PDF)
Location & Contact
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City, State San Carlos, CA
Cost of Living Index 115.6 (15.6% above avg)

Controller Pay

Hourly Annual
Base Rate $44.17 ≈ $91,900
Health & Welfare + $5.92 + $12,300
Total Compensation $50.09 ≈ $104,200
Premium Type Amount
Overtime + 50%
Sundays + 25%
Nights (6PM-6AM) + 10%
How this pay is calculated

$44.17 base + $5.92 health & welfare = $50.09 / hr · × 2,080 hours ≈ $104,200 / yr, before premium pay.

  • Base rate — every Federal Contract Tower contract carries a US Department of Labor wage determination: a county-level minimum for tower controllers, tied to federal GS-10 locality pay. At union towers the collective bargaining agreement governs pay instead, and the newest publicly released figure is shown; est. means the published figure is carried forward using only raises documented in the agreement itself.
  • Health & welfare — a required fringe paid on top of the wage (the negotiated rate where the agreement sets one, otherwise the current DOL rate), payable as benefits or cash for up to 40 hours per week.

Traffic

August 2025 - July 2026 (12 Months)
Tower Operations 122,359 operations/yr
Average Daily Operations 335 operations/day

Traffic History

Administration

Organizational Structure
Region Western Pacific
Service Area Western

Nearest Facilities

PAO Palo Alto Tower FAA 8 mi
SFO San Francisco Tower FAA 10 mi
HWD Hayward Tower FAA 12 mi
NUQ Moffett Tower DoD 13 mi
ZOA Oakland ARTCC FAA 13 mi
OAK Oakland Tower FAA 15 mi
SJC San Jose Tower FAA 20 mi
RHV Reid-Hillview Tower FAA 27 mi
LVK Livermore Tower FAA 27 mi
CCR Concord Tower FAA 35 mi