Economic Snapshot
Escalating wages of the top 1%: Cumulative change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2012
| Year | Top 1% | 95-99% | 90-95% | Bottom 90% | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | 3.4% | -0.2% | -1.3% | -2.2% | -1.4% |
| 1981 | 3.1% | -0.1% | -1.1% | -2.6% | -1.7% |
| 1982 | 9.5% | 2.2% | -0.9% | -3.9% | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 13.6% | 3.6% | 0.7% | -3.7% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 20.7% | 6.0% | 2.5% | -1.8% | 1.2% |
| 1985 | 23.0% | 8.1% | 4.0% | -1.0% | 2.4% |
| 1986 | 32.6% | 12.5% | 6.4% | 1.1% | 5.3% |
| 1987 | 53.5% | 15.0% | 7.4% | 2.1% | 8.0% |
| 1988 | 68.7% | 18.4% | 8.2% | 2.2% | 9.7% |
| 1989 | 63.3% | 18.2% | 8.1% | 1.8% | 9.0% |
| 1990 | 64.8% | 16.5% | 7.1% | 1.1% | 8.3% |
| 1991 | 53.6% | 15.5% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 6.5% |
| 1992 | 74.3% | 19.2% | 9.0% | 1.5% | 9.8% |
| 1993 | 67.9% | 20.6% | 9.2% | 0.9% | 9.1% |
| 1994 | 63.4% | 21.0% | 11.2% | 2.0% | 9.8% |
| 1995 | 70.2% | 24.1% | 12.2% | 2.8% | 11.3% |
| 1996 | 79.0% | 27.0% | 13.6% | 4.1% | 13.3% |
| 1997 | 100.6% | 32.3% | 16.9% | 7.0% | 18.0% |
| 1998 | 113.1% | 38.2% | 21.3% | 11.0% | 22.9% |
| 1999 | 129.7% | 42.9% | 25.0% | 13.2% | 26.6% |
| 2000 | 144.8% | 48.0% | 26.8% | 15.3% | 29.9% |
| 2001 | 130.4% | 46.4% | 29.0% | 15.7% | 29.3% |
| 2002 | 109.3% | 43.2% | 29.0% | 15.6% | 27.2% |
| 2003 | 113.9% | 44.9% | 30.3% | 15.7% | 28.0% |
| 2004 | 127.2% | 47.1% | 30.8% | 15.6% | 29.2% |
| 2005 | 135.4% | 48.7% | 30.8% | 15.0% | 29.6% |
| 2006 | 143.4% | 52.1% | 32.5% | 15.7% | 31.2% |
| 2007 | 156.2% | 55.4% | 34.1% | 16.7% | 33.4% |
| 2008 | 137.5% | 53.8% | 34.2% | 16.0% | 31.4% |
| 2009 | 116.2% | 53.6% | 35.4% | 16.0% | 29.9% |
| 2010 | 130.9% | 55.7% | 35.7% | 15.2% | 30.8% |
| 2011 | 134.0% | 56.9% | 36.2% | 14.5% | 30.7% |
| 2012 | 153.6% | 61.6% | 39.2% | 17.1% | 34.8% |
This is an update of Figure 4H from State of Working America, 13th Edition.
Source: Authors' analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010) and Social Security Administration wage statistics
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