Wage equality is rising in America. Between 1979 and 2022, the wages of Americans in the top 1% of earners grew by 172%, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In the same years, the bottom 90% of earners saw their wages grow by a more modest 33%.
“When you think about the very top, it’s about what’s happening with executive compensation,” and CEO pay in particular, Gould said.
In 1965, CEOs were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker, on average, according to EPI research. In 2023, CEOs were paid 290 times as much.
But lower-income Americans are also earning more money, especially in recent years. Lower-paid workers actually had relatively robust wage growth between 2019 and 2023, the EPI found, because of policy moves that aided them during the pandemic.