Cumulative percent change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2023
| Year | Bottom 90% | 90th–95th percentile | 95th–99th percentile | Top 1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -2.2% | -1.5% | -0.7% | 3.9% |
| 1981 | -2.2% | -1.3% | 0.3% | 4.1% |
| 1982 | -3.0% | -0.1% | 3.1% | 11.2% |
| 1983 | -2.1% | 2.4% | 5.5% | 15.7% |
| 1984 | 0.4% | 4.4% | 8.6% | 23.3% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | 5.4% | 10.4% | 25.8% |
| 1986 | 3.0% | 8.3% | 14.4% | 35.2% |
| 1987 | 3.0% | 8.0% | 16.2% | 55.2% |
| 1988 | 2.6% | 8.0% | 18.2% | 70.3% |
| 1989 | 3.3% | 9.5% | 19.7% | 66.6% |
| 1990 | 2.6% | 7.8% | 18.0% | 68.5% |
| 1991 | 1.4% | 16.6% | 21.7% | 50.3% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | 19.5% | 24.3% | 68.5% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | 19.5% | 26.1% | 63.5% |
| 1994 | 3.5% | 22.5% | 29.4% | 61.3% |
| 1995 | 4.7% | 24.4% | 32.6% | 72.9% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | 25.1% | 34.6% | 80.2% |
| 1997 | 7.7% | 28.0% | 39.7% | 96.3% |
| 1998 | 12.1% | 33.8% | 46.9% | 112.8% |
| 1999 | 14.7% | 37.1% | 51.9% | 130.8% |
| 2000 | 15.6% | 39.4% | 56.2% | 148.2% |
| 2001 | 16.6% | 40.6% | 56.1% | 127.4% |
| 2002 | 17.2% | 41.9% | 55.3% | 112.5% |
| 2003 | 17.9% | 43.3% | 57.5% | 114.7% |
| 2004 | 19.0% | 45.4% | 60.3% | 132.3% |
| 2005 | 19.1% | 46.4% | 63.1% | 142.4% |
| 2006 | 20.9% | 49.6% | 68.2% | 153.0% |
| 2007 | 22.1% | 51.8% | 72.2% | 167.1% |
| 2008 | 21.6% | 51.9% | 70.6% | 147.5% |
| 2009 | 21.4% | 52.9% | 70.1% | 124.7% |
| 2010 | 21.3% | 54.2% | 73.4% | 141.6% |
| 2011 | 20.4% | 54.6% | 74.4% | 144.7% |
| 2012 | 21.0% | 55.4% | 76.7% | 161.0% |
| 2013 | 21.6% | 56.3% | 78.0% | 149.5% |
| 2014 | 23.7% | 59.0% | 82.1% | 163.0% |
| 2015 | 28.0% | 64.3% | 88.6% | 170.9% |
| 2016 | 29.2% | 65.4% | 89.8% | 163.5% |
| 2017 | 31.1% | 67.1% | 92.0% | 174.7% |
| 2018 | 33.6% | 69.8% | 95.3% | 176.6% |
| 2019 | 36.8% | 73.3% | 100.2% | 180.0% |
| 2020 | 37.1% | 77.7% | 106.8% | 197.4% |
| 2021 | 41.7% | 80.4% | 113.6% | 237.2% |
| 2022 | 42.4% | 78.8% | 109.5% | 191.2% |
| 2023 | 43.7% | 78.4% | 107.5% | 181.7% |
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.