About the US wage growth
Wage growth here is the 12-month change in average hourly earnings of all private-sector employees, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll survey. Comparing it with the inflation rate shows whether pay is keeping up with prices: when wage growth is above inflation, real wages are rising.
The series starts in 2006. Shifts in who is working can move the average: in spring 2020, when many lower-paid workers lost their jobs, average earnings jumped even though no one got a raise.
US Wage Growth by year
| Year | Average | High | Low | December / latest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Sep) | 3.4% | 3.7% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 2025 | 4.0% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | 4.4% | 3.6% | 4.1% |
| 2023 | 4.5% | 4.8% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| 2022 | 5.4% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| 2021 | 4.3% | 5.4% | 0.6% | 4.9% |
| 2020 | 4.9% | 8.1% | 3.0% | 5.4% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | 3.6% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | 3.5% | 2.6% | 3.5% |
| 2017 | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 2.7% |
| 2016 | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | 2.5% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 2.2% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1.8% | 2.0% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| 2009 | 2.8% | 3.6% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3.7% |
| 2007 | 3.2% | 3.6% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
Monthly values. The last 20 years are shown; the chart above has the full history since March 2007.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the current US wage growth?
The US wage growth was 3.0% in September 2026, down 0.8 points from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What was the highest US wage growth on record?
Since March 2007, the highest reading was 8.1% in April 2020 and the lowest was 0.6% in April 2021.
Where does this data come from?
The numbers are published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and distributed by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in FRED (series CES0500000003). They are US government statistics in the public domain. Quotelinks checks for new data every day.
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