Change in annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2018
| Percent Change | Percent Change | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual wages (2018 dollars) | Long-term | Great Recession | ||||||||||
| Wage group | 1979 | 2007 | 2009 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 1979–2007 | 1979-2018 | 2007-09 | 2009-18 | 2016–18 | 2007-18 |
| Bottom 90% | $30,330 | $35,384 | $35,169 | $36,711 | $37,064 | $37,574 | 16.7% | 23.9% | -0.6% | 6.8% | 2.3% | 6.2% |
| Top 90th to 99th | $99,204 | $144,170 | $143,795 | $155,270 | $156,192 | $158,002 | 45.3% | 59.3% | -0.3% | 9.9% | 1.8% | 9.6% |
| 90%-95% | $84,123 | $112,780 | $113,836 | $120,689 | $121,286 | $122,595 | 34.1% | 45.7% | 0.9% | 7.7% | 1.6% | 8.7% |
| 95%-99% | $118,054 | $183,407 | $181,245 | $198,497 | $199,826 | $202,261 | 55.4% | 71.3% | -1.2% | 11.6% | 1.9% | 10.3% |
| Upper 5% | $151,672 | $293,332 | $268,702 | $300,765 | $307,118 | $309,348 | 93.4% | 104.0% | -8.4% | 15.1% | 2.9% | 5.5% |
| Upper 1% | $286,145 | $733,029 | $618,529 | $709,840 | $736,287 | $737,697 | 156.2% | 157.8% | -15.6% | 19.3% | 3.9% | 0.6% |
| 99.0%–99.9% | $247,141 | $487,056 | $445,434 | $498,252 | $504,312 | $507,652 | 97.1% | 105.4% | -8.5% | 14.0% | 1.9% | 4.2% |
| 99.9% -100% | $637,180 | $2,946,791 | $2,176,388 | $2,614,124 | $2,824,069 | $2,808,104 | 362.5% | 340.7% | -26.1% | 29.0% | 7.4% | -4.7% |
| Average | $39,091 | $52,151 | $50,779 | $54,113 | $54,778 | $55,412 | 33.4% | 41.8% | -2.6% | 9.1% | 2.4% | 6.3% |
Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez and Song (2010) and Social Security Administration wage statistics