High-end wages grew twice as fast as low- and middle-wages since 1979: Cumulative change in real hourly wages of workers, by wage percentile, 1979–2025
| Year | 10th | 50th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -4.2% | -0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | -5.5% | -1.8% | 0.0% |
| 1982 | -9.9% | -1.9% | 0.5% |
| 1983 | -12.9% | -2.3% | 2.3% |
| 1984 | -14.9% | -1.4% | 3.8% |
| 1985 | -16.2% | -0.5% | 3.2% |
| 1986 | -15.6% | 1.4% | 6.7% |
| 1987 | -16.2% | 1.4% | 8.2% |
| 1988 | -16.1% | 1.0% | 9.1% |
| 1989 | -15.7% | 0.3% | 7.8% |
| 1990 | -15.3% | -0.2% | 8.2% |
| 1991 | -13.3% | 0.0% | 8.6% |
| 1992 | -13.2% | 0.2% | 8.3% |
| 1993 | -13.1% | 0.8% | 8.4% |
| 1994 | -13.8% | -0.4% | 11.0% |
| 1995 | -13.9% | -0.8% | 10.7% |
| 1996 | -14.4% | -1.3% | 11.8% |
| 1997 | -12.0% | -0.2% | 13.2% |
| 1998 | -6.9% | 3.7% | 16.9% |
| 1999 | -5.1% | 6.2% | 18.8% |
| 2000 | -5.0% | 6.6% | 20.3% |
| 2001 | -1.8% | 8.9% | 25.1% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | 10.7% | 27.5% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | 11.7% | 26.8% |
| 2004 | -0.6% | 12.0% | 28.7% |
| 2005 | -2.4% | 11.4% | 28.6% |
| 2006 | -2.1% | 11.9% | 30.6% |
| 2007 | -0.5% | 12.3% | 32.2% |
| 2008 | -0.5% | 12.2% | 33.4% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | 14.7% | 36.6% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | 13.6% | 36.6% |
| 2011 | -1.0% | 11.2% | 35.0% |
| 2012 | -2.6% | 10.6% | 36.2% |
| 2013 | -1.8% | 11.2% | 37.3% |
| 2014 | -1.0% | 11.2% | 37.0% |
| 2015 | 2.9% | 13.8% | 42.4% |
| 2016 | 6.2% | 16.4% | 46.3% |
| 2017 | 9.1% | 18.2% | 49.2% |
| 2018 | 10.0% | 19.3% | 51.2% |
| 2019 | 11.8% | 21.9% | 52.8% |
| 2020 | 19.2% | 29.9% | 64.8% |
| 2021 | 19.8% | 27.0% | 58.4% |
| 2022 | 21.1% | 25.8% | 60.0% |
| 2023 | 25.7% | 27.4% | 60.8% |
| 2024 | 29.0% | 29.0% | 63.5% |
| 2025 | 28.6% | 30.0% | 64.1% |
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 2025.1.6, https://microdata.epi.org.