Change in annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2019
| Percent change | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual wages (2019 dollars) | Long-term | Over 2007–2019 business cycle | |||||||||
| Wage group | 1979 | 2007 | 2009 | 2018 | 2019 | 1979–2007 | 1979–2019 | 2007–2009 | 2009–2019 | 2018–2019 | 2007–2019 |
| Bottom 90% | $30,880 | $36,025 | $35,806 | $38,255 | $38,923 | 16.7% | 26.0% | -0.6% | 8.7% | 1.7% | 8.0% |
| 90th–99th | $101,001 | $146,782 | $146,401 | $160,865 | $165,782 | 45.3% | 64.1% | -0.3% | 13.2% | 3.1% | 12.9% |
| 90th–95th | $85,648 | $114,824 | $115,898 | $124,816 | $129,998 | 34.1% | 51.8% | 0.9% | 12.2% | 4.2% | 13.2% |
| 95th–99th | $120,193 | $186,730 | $184,529 | $205,925 | $210,511 | 55.4% | 75.1% | -1.2% | 14.1% | 2.2% | 12.7% |
| Upper 5% | $154,420 | $298,646 | $273,570 | $314,953 | $320,096 | 93.4% | 107.3% | -8.4% | 17.0% | 1.6% | 7.2% |
| Upper 1% | $291,329 | $746,310 | $629,736 | $751,063 | $758,434 | 156.2% | 160.3% | -15.6% | 20.4% | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| 99.0th–99.9th | $251,619 | $495,880 | $453,504 | $516,850 | $521,794 | 97.1% | 107.4% | -8.5% | 15.1% | 1.0% | 5.2% |
| 99.9th–100th | $648,725 | $3,000,181 | $2,215,819 | $2,858,981 | $2,888,192 | 362.5% | 345.2% | -26.1% | 30.3% | 1.0% | -3.7% |
| Average | $39,799 | $53,096 | $51,699 | $56,416 | $57,535 | 33.4% | 44.6% | -2.6% | 11.3% | 2.0% | 8.4% |
Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2007) and Social Security Administration wage statistics.