Change in annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2020
| Percent change | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual wages (2020 dollars) | Long-term | Over 2007–2020 business cycle | |||||||||
| Wage group | 1979 | 2007 | 2009 | 2019 | 2020 | 1979–2007 | 1979–2020 | 2007–2009 | 2009–2020 | 2019–2020 | 2007–2020 |
| Bottom 90% | $31,265 | $36,475 | $36,253 | $39,409 | $40,085 | 16.7% | 28.2% | -0.6% | 10.6% | 1.7% | 9.9% |
| 90th–99th | $102,262 | $148,614 | $148,228 | $167,851 | $173,176 | 45.3% | 69.3% | -0.3% | 16.8% | 3.2% | 16.5% |
| 90th–95th | $86,717 | $116,257 | $117,345 | $131,620 | $133,482 | 34.1% | 53.9% | 0.9% | 13.8% | 1.4% | 14.8% |
| 95th–99th | $121,694 | $189,061 | $186,832 | $213,139 | $222,793 | 55.4% | 83.1% | -1.2% | 19.2% | 4.5% | 17.8% |
| Upper 5% | $156,348 | $302,375 | $276,985 | $324,092 | $342,987 | 93.4% | 119.4% | -8.4% | 23.8% | 5.8% | 13.4% |
| Upper 1% | $294,966 | $755,627 | $637,597 | $767,902 | $823,763 | 156.2% | 179.3% | -15.6% | 29.2% | 7.3% | 9.0% |
| 99.0th–99.9th | $254,760 | $502,071 | $459,165 | $528,308 | $558,349 | 97.1% | 119.2% | -8.5% | 21.6% | 5.7% | 11.2% |
| 99.9th–100th | $656,823 | $3,037,633 | $2,243,480 | $2,924,246 | $3,212,486 | 362.5% | 389.1% | -26.1% | 43.2% | 9.9% | 5.8% |
| Average | $40,296 | $53,759 | $52,345 | $58,254 | $59,900 | 33.4% | 48.6% | -2.6% | 14.4% | 2.8% | 11.4% |
Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2007) and Social Security Administration wage statistics.