CEOs make 344 times as much as typical workers: CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, 1965–2022

year Realized CEO compensation Granted CEO compensation
1965 20.7 15.4
1966 21.9 16.3
1967 23.2 17.2
1968 24.4 18.1
1969 24.1 17.9
1970 23.9 17.7
1971 23.6 17.5
1972 23.3 17.3
1973 23.0 17.1
1974 24.6 18.2
1975 26.2 19.4
1976 27.7 20.6
1977 29.3 21.7
1978 30.9 22.9
1979 33.6 24.9
1980 36.2 26.9
1981 38.9 28.8
1982 41.6 30.8
1983 44.3 32.8
1984 47.0 34.8
1985 49.6 36.8
1986 52.3 38.8
1987 55.0 40.8
1988 57.7 42.8
1989 60.4 44.7
1990 75.9 56.3
1991 91.5 67.9
1992 107.1 79.4
1993 108.2 99.2
1994 87.2 116.5
1995 117.4 130.5
1996 150.3 176.7
1997 223.1 233.0
1998 307.8 304.1
1999 278.4 288.7
2000 380.9 395.8
2001 213.4 326.3
2002 185.4 233.1
2003 229.1 226.4
2004 262.2 231.4
2005 318.6 244.8
2006 323.6 237.7
2007 325.9 242.0  
2008 199.5 216.5
2009 175.0 181.2
2010 209.4 203.0
2011 238.1 210.9
2012 367.4 206.0
2013 318.6 210.7
2014 317.6 219.1
2015 318.8 216.6
2016 271.2 220.0
2017 299.2 232.5
2018 289.7 228.3
2019 311.0 228.0
2020 372.3 220.3
2021 389.0 254.3
2022 344.5 229.0

Notes: Average annual compensation for CEOs is for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. Typical worker compensation is the average annual compensation (wages and benefits of a full-time, full-year worker) of production/nonsupervisory workers in the industries that the top 350 firms operate in.

Notes: Average annual compensation for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales is measured in two ways. Both include salary, bonus, and long-term incentive payouts, but the “granted” measure includes the value of stock options and stock awards when they were granted, whereas the “realized” measure captures the value of stock-related components that accrues after options or stock awards are granted by including “stock options exercised” and “vested stock awards.” Projected value for 2022 is based on the percent change in CEO pay in the samples available in June 2021 and in June 2022 applied to the full-year 2021 value. “Typical worker” compensation is the average annual compensation (wages and benefits of a full-time, full-year worker) of production/nonsupervisory workers in the industries that the top 350 firms operate in.

Source: Authors’ analysis of data from Compustat’s ExecuComp database, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics data series, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis NIPA tables.

View the underlying data on epi.org.