Table 1

CEO compensation, CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, and stock prices (2016 dollars), 1965–2016

CEO annual compensation (in thousands)* Worker annual compensation (in thousands) Stock market (adjusted to 2016) CEO-to-worker compensation ratio***
Based on options realized Based on options granted Private-sector production/nonsupervisory workers Firms’ industry** S&P 500 Dow Jones Based on options realized Based on options granted
1965 $843 $800 $40.0 n/a 587 6,066 20.2 18.4
1973 $1,102 $1,046 $46.9 n/a 519 4,464 22.5 20.5
1978 $1,508 $1,431 $48.0 n/a 325 2,774 30.1 27.4
1989 $2,808 $2,664 $45.6 n/a 604 4,694 58.9 53.7
1995 $5,947 $6,595 $45.7 $53.1 848 7,042 122.6 136.8
2000 $20,664 $21,313 $48.3 $56.0 1,989 14,947 376.1 411.3
2007 $19,112 $13,282 $50.2 $56.0 1,710 15,255 347.5 240.8
2009 $10,746 $10,341 $52.2 $58.2 1,061 9,941 196.6 183.9
2010 $12,827 $11,677 $52.4 $59.0 1,255 11,744 230.3 206.3
2011 $12,958 $11,997 $51.8 $58.7 1,353 12,760 232.7 213.2
2012 $15,261 $11,587 $51.4 $58.3 1,442 13,554 281.5 209.8
2013 $15,603 $11,986 $51.7 $58.5 1,694 15,465 291.8 214.5
2014 $16,569 $12,469 $51.9 $58.8 1,958 17,011 298.7 224.5
2015 $16,341 $12,496 $52.7 $59.7 2,087 17,810 286.1 219.7
2015 (June 2016) $15,699 $12,173 $52.9 $59.2 2,087 17,810 275.4 215.4
2016 (June 2017) $15,021 $12,636 $53.3 $60.8 2,095 17,927 259.8 218.0
2016 (projection) $15,636 $12,970 $53.3 $60.8 2,095 17,927 270.5 223.8
Percent change Change in ratio
1965–1978 78.9% 78.9% 19.9% n/a -44.7% -54.3% 9.9 9.0
1978–2000 1,270.1% 1,389.5% 0.6% n/a 512.7% 438.8% 346.0 383.9
2000–2016 -24.3% -39.1% 10.5% 8.5% 5.3% 19.9% -105.6 -187.5
2009–2016 45.5% 25.4% 2.2% 4.5% 97.5% 80.3% 73.9 39.9
1978–2016 936.7% 806.5% 11.2% n/a 545.2% 546.3% 240.4 196.4

*CEO annual compensation is computed using the “options realized” and “options granted” compensation series for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. The “options realized” series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options realized, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. The “options granted” series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, value of options granted, and long-term incentive payouts.
**Annual compensation of the workers in the key industries of the firms in the sample.
***Based on averaging specific firm ratios and not the ratio of averages of CEO and worker compensation.

Notes: Projected value for 2016 is based on the change in CEO pay as measured from June 2015 to June 2016 applied to the full-year 2015 value. Projections for compensation based on options granted and options realized are calculated separately.

Source: Authors’ analysis of data from Compustat's ExecuComp database, the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics data series, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis NIPA tables

Copy the code below to embed this chart on your website.

This chart appears in:

Previous chart: «

Next chart: »