Cumulative percent change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2022
| Year | Bottom 90% | 90th–95th percentile | 95th–99th percentile | Top 1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -2.3% | -1.6% | -0.8% | 3.8% |
| 1981 | -2.2% | -1.4% | 0.3% | 4.1% |
| 1982 | -3.0% | -0.1% | 3.0% | 11.2% |
| 1983 | -2.2% | 2.3% | 5.4% | 15.6% |
| 1984 | 0.3% | 4.3% | 8.5% | 23.2% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | 5.3% | 10.4% | 25.8% |
| 1986 | 2.9% | 8.2% | 14.3% | 35.1% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | 7.9% | 16.1% | 55.1% |
| 1988 | 2.5% | 7.9% | 18.1% | 70.2% |
| 1989 | 3.2% | 9.5% | 19.7% | 66.5% |
| 1990 | 2.5% | 7.7% | 17.9% | 68.3% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | 16.5% | 21.6% | 50.2% |
| 1992 | 2.3% | 19.4% | 24.2% | 68.5% |
| 1993 | 1.6% | 19.4% | 26.0% | 63.3% |
| 1994 | 3.5% | 22.5% | 29.4% | 61.3% |
| 1995 | 4.7% | 24.3% | 32.6% | 72.8% |
| 1996 | 5.1% | 25.0% | 34.5% | 80.1% |
| 1997 | 7.6% | 27.9% | 39.6% | 96.1% |
| 1998 | 12.0% | 33.6% | 46.8% | 112.7% |
| 1999 | 14.6% | 36.9% | 51.8% | 130.5% |
| 2000 | 15.5% | 39.3% | 56.1% | 148.1% |
| 2001 | 15.8% | 39.7% | 55.1% | 126.0% |
| 2002 | 16.0% | 40.6% | 53.8% | 110.5% |
| 2003 | 16.5% | 41.6% | 55.7% | 112.3% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | 43.5% | 58.2% | 129.2% |
| 2005 | 17.0% | 43.8% | 60.1% | 138.1% |
| 2006 | 18.3% | 46.5% | 64.7% | 147.7% |
| 2007 | 19.2% | 48.2% | 68.1% | 160.8% |
| 2008 | 18.5% | 48.0% | 66.2% | 141.2% |
| 2009 | 18.3% | 49.0% | 65.7% | 118.8% |
| 2010 | 17.8% | 49.8% | 68.5% | 134.7% |
| 2011 | 16.9% | 50.1% | 69.3% | 137.6% |
| 2012 | 17.3% | 50.6% | 71.3% | 153.0% |
| 2013 | 17.5% | 51.1% | 72.0% | 141.2% |
| 2014 | 19.2% | 53.3% | 75.6% | 153.6% |
| 2015 | 23.1% | 58.0% | 81.4% | 160.6% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | 58.4% | 81.8% | 152.4% |
| 2017 | 25.1% | 59.5% | 83.2% | 162.2% |
| 2018 | 27.0% | 61.4% | 85.7% | 162.9% |
| 2019 | 29.5% | 64.0% | 89.5% | 165.0% |
| 2020 | 29.4% | 67.8% | 95.2% | 180.7% |
| 2021 | 33.2% | 69.6% | 100.8% | 217.0% |
| 2022 | 32.9% | 66.9% | 95.5% | 171.7% |
Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song, “Uncovering the American Dream: Inequality and Mobility in Social Security Earnings Data Since 1937” (2007) and Social Security Administration wage statistics.