Wage trends
30 published tables from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau on how wages and earnings move: the Employment Cost Index for wages, benefits and total compensation, employer costs per hour, average hourly earnings by industry, real earnings, median weekly earnings by age, occupation, education, sex, race and union status, annual earnings by age, sex and education, the female-to-male earnings ratio since 1960, the median wage of each occupation group across five OEWS releases, and the ten tables of BLS's report on workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage. Each page shows the table as published, names the release and its number, states the next release date, and explains the definitions. One page, the federal minimum wage in real terms, carries a computed column and states its method; nothing else is recomputed.
| Page | Publisher and release | Released | Next release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Cost Index: Wages and Salaries Twelve-month change in the ECI for wages and salaries for civilian, private and state and local government workers by occupation group and industry, from BLS. | BLS: Employment Cost Index (USDL-26-1270) | ||
| ECI Wages and Salaries, Quarterly Seasonally adjusted ECI for wages and salaries: index levels and nine quarters of three-month percent changes by occupation group and industry (BLS Table 2). | BLS: Employment Cost Index (USDL-26-1270) | ||
| Real Earnings: Hourly and Weekly Current and CPI-deflated average hourly and weekly earnings for all employees and for production and nonsupervisory employees, from BLS Real Earnings. | BLS: Real Earnings (USDL-26-1575) | ||
| Median Weekly Earnings by Quarter Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by sex, every quarter since 2017, in current and constant 1982-84 dollars, from BLS. | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Weekly Earnings by Education Deciles, quartiles and the median of usual weekly earnings of full-time workers aged 25 and over by educational attainment and sex, from BLS. | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Weekly Earnings by Sex, Race, Ethnicity Deciles, quartiles and the median of usual weekly earnings of full-time workers by sex, race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, from the BLS quarterly release. | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Union vs Nonunion Weekly Earnings Median weekly earnings of full-time workers who are union members, union-represented or nonunion, by age, sex, race, occupation and industry, 2024 and 2025. | BLS: Union Membership (Annual) (USDL-26-0229) | see release calendar | |
| Median Annual Earnings by Age and Sex Median annual earnings of people with earnings and of full-time, year-round workers by sex and age, 2024 and 2025, from Census report P60-289, in 2025 dollars. | Census Bureau: Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289) | see release calendar | |
| Annual Earnings by Education (Census) Median annual earnings of workers aged 25 and over by educational attainment, for all earners and full-time, year-round workers, 2024 and 2025 (Census P60-289). | Census Bureau: Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289) | see release calendar | |
| Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio Since 1960 Real median earnings of men and women and the female-to-male earnings ratio for full-time, year-round workers, every year from 1960 to 2025 (Census P60-289). | Census Bureau: Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289) | see release calendar | |
| Median Wage by Occupation Group, 2021 to 2025 Median annual wage and employment of the 22 SOC major occupation groups in each OEWS May release from 2021 to 2025, shown side by side as BLS published them. | BLS: OEWS May 2021 to May 2025 | see release calendar | |
| Employer Costs: Wages and Benefits Employer cost per hour worked for wages and each benefit, and their percent of total compensation, for civilian, private and government workers (ECEC Table 1). | BLS: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (USDL-26-1494) | ||
| Employer Costs by Occupation and Industry Employer cost per hour worked and percent of compensation for wages, benefits and five benefit groups by occupational and industry group (BLS ECEC Table 4). | BLS: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (USDL-26-1494) | ||
| ECI Total Compensation, Private Industry Employment Cost Index for total compensation of private industry workers by occupational group and industry: index levels and percent changes (BLS Table 5). | BLS: Employment Cost Index (USDL-26-1270) | ||
| ECI Benefits by Occupation and Industry Employment Cost Index for benefits of civilian, private and state and local government workers by occupation, industry and bargaining status (BLS Table 12). | BLS: Employment Cost Index (USDL-26-1270) | ||
| Average Hourly Earnings by Industry Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted (Employment Situation Table B-3). | BLS: Employment Situation (USDL-26-1549) | ||
| Weekly Earnings by Age, Race and Sex Median usual weekly earnings of full-time workers by age within each race and ethnicity group, for men and women, from BLS Table 3 of the quarterly release. | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Weekly Earnings by Occupation and Sex Median usual weekly earnings of full-time workers in each major occupation group, for all workers, men and women, this quarter and a year earlier (BLS Table 4). | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Weekly Earnings: Annual Averages Annual-average median weekly earnings of full-time workers by sex, age, race and ethnicity, 2024 and 2025, in current and constant dollars (BLS Table 7). | BLS: Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers (USDL-26-1257) | ||
| Minimum Wage Workers by Age, Sex and Race Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by age and sex, race and ethnicity, and full- or part-time status, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 1). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Census Region Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage in each census region and division: numbers, distribution and share, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 2). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by State Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage in each state and DC: numbers, distribution and share, 2024 annual averages (BLS Report 1115, Table 3). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Occupation Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by major and intermediate occupation group: numbers, distribution and share, 2024 (BLS Report 1115). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Industry Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by industry sector, private and public: numbers, distribution and share, 2024 (Report 1115, Table 5). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Education Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by educational attainment, less than high school to doctoral degree, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 6). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Age and Sex Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage in each age band for all workers, men and women: numbers and share, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 7). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Marital Status Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by marital status, age and sex: numbers, distribution and share, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 8). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers by Hours Worked Hourly-paid workers at or below the federal minimum wage by usual weekly hours on the primary job, under 5 to 60 or more, 2024 (BLS Report 1115, Table 9). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Minimum Wage Workers, 1979 to 2024 Workers paid hourly rates at, below and at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage each year from 1979 to 2024, by sex (BLS Report 1115, Table 10). | BLS: Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025) | see release calendar | |
| Federal Minimum Wage in Real Terms The federal minimum wage each year from 2006 to 2025 in current and 2025 dollars, computed here from DOL's rate history and the BLS CPI-U annual averages. | BLS and DOL: CPI-U annual averages (CUUR0000SA0, BLS Public Data API, date fetched) and DOL's federal rate history | see release calendar |
How these tables relate
The Employment Cost Index measures the change in the cost of labor for the same jobs over time, so it is the cleanest reading of wage growth free of shifts in who is employed. Average hourly earnings (the Real Earnings release) are the payroll survey's average across all employees, which moves with the mix of jobs as well as pay rates. Median usual weekly earningscome from the household survey and describe the middle full-time worker by characteristic. The Census figures are annual earnings from the CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement, in constant 2025 dollars. OEWS medians are point-in-time estimates by occupation that BLS does not design as a time series. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation gives the level of wages and each benefit in dollars per hour worked, where the ECI gives their change. The minimum-wage report counts hourly-paid workers at or below the federal $7.25 from the same household survey as the weekly earnings tables. The Learn section explains each measure.
Not here
Pay-gap series beyond what the publishers print (owner question 3 in the roadmap) are not computed. The 2025 edition of the minimum-wage report is added when BLS publishes it; the real-terms page extends when the next CPI-U annual average is published.