Real wages rose between 2019 and 2024: Percent change in inflation-adjusted wages for select part of the wage distribution and demographic groups
| Wage Levels | |
|---|---|
| Very low wage | 13.6% |
| Low wage | 7.6% |
| Median wage | 3.9% |
| Non-college | 4.6% |
| College | -0.7% |
| Women | 6.9% |
| Men | 2.5% |
| AAPI | -2.3% |
| Black | 5.8% |
| Hispanic | 2.1% |
| White | 4.2% |
Note: Race and ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, all races). AAPI is Asian American Pacific Islander. Very low wage is the 10th percentile wage, low wage is the 20th percentile wage, and median wage is the 50th percentile wage. College indicates a completed college degree. People with 'some college' education are included in the non-college category. Wages are in inflation-adjusted 2024 dollars.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 2025.8.8, https://microdata.epi.org.
This chart appears in:
Previous chart: « Changes in household income and poverty rates, 2019–2024
Next chart: Percent change in payrolls since February 2020, for private and federal government employment in the DMV »