What is the average hourly wage in the U.S.?
$38.00 an hour for all private-sector employees in October 2026, and $32.75 for production and nonsupervisory workers (BLS, seasonally adjusted).
Average hourly wage: $38.00 in October 2026
All private-sector employees, BLS · $1,307.20 a week
Average hourly pay$38.003.1% more than a year ago
Average weekly pay$1,307about $67,974 a year
After inflation−0.5%12 months to September 2026
Production workers$32.75hourly, nonsupervisory
Did your raise beat inflation?
After inflation, your pay
Enter bothAverage hourly pay since 2006
Pay against prices by year
| Year | All employees | Production workers | Pay change | Prices | After inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $36.44 | $31.34 | 4.0% | 2.6% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | $35.06 | $30.12 | 4.2% | 3.0% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $33.70 | $28.92 | 4.9% | 4.1% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | $32.26 | $27.56 | 6.4% | 8.0% | −1.5% |
| 2021 | $30.61 | $25.91 | 5.0% | 4.7% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | $29.36 | $24.68 | 5.0% | 1.3% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | $28.00 | $23.51 | 3.5% | 1.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | $27.10 | $22.70 | 3.0% | 2.4% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | $26.31 | $22.04 | 2.3% | 2.1% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | $25.65 | $21.54 | 2.4% | 1.3% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | $25.01 | $21.03 | 2.1% | 0.1% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | $24.46 | $20.60 | 2.3% | 1.6% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | $23.96 | $20.13 | 2.1% | 1.5% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | $23.47 | $19.72 | 1.5% | 2.1% | −0.6% |
| 2011 | $23.03 | $19.44 | 2.0% | 3.1% | −1.1% |
| 2010 | $22.58 | $19.05 | 2.4% | 1.6% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | $22.17 | $18.61 | 3.0% | -0.3% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | $21.57 | $18.06 | 3.8% | 3.8% | −0.0% |
| 2007 | $20.91 | $17.41 | 4.0% | 2.9% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | — | $16.74 | 3.9% | 3.2% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | — | $16.12 | 2.8% | 3.4% | −0.6% |
| 2004 | — | $15.68 | 2.1% | 2.7% | −0.5% |
| 2003 | — | $15.36 | 2.7% | 2.3% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | — | $14.96 | 2.9% | 1.6% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | — | $14.54 | 3.8% | 2.8% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | — | $14.01 | 3.9% | 3.4% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | — | $13.49 | 3.7% | 2.2% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | — | $13.01 | 4.0% | 1.5% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | — | $12.50 | 3.8% | 2.3% | +1.5% |
| 1996 | — | $12.04 | 3.4% | 2.9% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | — | $11.65 | 2.8% | 2.8% | −0.0% |
| 1994 | — | $11.33 | 2.6% | 2.6% | −0.0% |
| 1993 | — | $11.05 | 2.6% | 3.0% | −0.4% |
| 1992 | — | $10.77 | 2.4% | 3.0% | −0.6% |
| 1991 | — | $10.51 | 3.1% | 4.2% | −1.1% |
| 1990 | — | $10.20 | 4.0% | 5.4% | −1.3% |
| 1989 | — | $9.80 | 3.9% | 4.8% | −0.8% |
| 1988 | — | $9.44 | 3.2% | 4.1% | −0.8% |
| 1987 | — | $9.14 | 2.4% | 3.6% | −1.1% |
| 1986 | — | $8.92 | 2.2% | 1.9% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | — | $8.73 | 2.9% | 3.5% | −0.6% |
| 1984 | — | $8.49 | 3.5% | 4.4% | −0.8% |
| 1983 | — | $8.20 | 4.2% | 3.2% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | — | $7.86 | 5.8% | 6.2% | −0.3% |
| 1981 | — | $7.43 | 8.6% | 10.4% | −1.6% |
| 1980 | — | $6.85 | 8.0% | 13.5% | −4.9% |
| 1979 | — | $6.34 | 7.9% | 11.3% | −3.0% |
| 1978 | — | $5.88 | 8.1% | 7.6% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | — | $5.44 | 7.5% | 6.5% | +0.9% |
| 1976 | — | $5.06 | 6.8% | 5.8% | +0.9% |
| 1975 | — | $4.74 | 6.8% | 9.1% | −2.2% |
| 1974 | — | $4.44 | 7.2% | 11.0% | −3.4% |
| 1973 | — | $4.14 | 6.1% | 6.3% | −0.1% |
| 1972 | — | $3.90 | 7.5% | 3.3% | +4.1% |
| 1971 | — | $3.63 | 6.5% | 4.2% | +2.2% |
| 1970 | — | $3.40 | 5.8% | 5.9% | −0.1% |
| 1969 | — | $3.22 | 6.4% | 5.4% | +0.9% |
| 1968 | — | $3.02 | 5.9% | 4.2% | +1.6% |
| 1967 | — | $2.86 | 4.4% | 2.8% | +1.6% |
| 1966 | — | $2.73 | 4.0% | 3.0% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | — | $2.63 | 3.7% | 1.6% | +2.1% |
Yearly averages of monthly hourly earnings. Changes use production and nonsupervisory pay, the longer series, against the CPI-U; both seasonally adjusted.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, data through October 2026.
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Citation
insytesBI. (2026). Average hourly wage: $38.00 in October 2026. Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, October 2026. https://www.insytesbi.com/economy/average-wage/Link
<a href="https://www.insytesbi.com/economy/average-wage/">Average hourly wage: $38.00 in October 2026</a>Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary in the U.S.?
Average weekly earnings were $1,307.20 in October 2026, about $67,974 over 52 weeks. That is an average across all private-sector jobs, full and part time; the median full-time worker earns a different amount.
Are wages keeping up with inflation?
No: over the 12 months to September 2026, average hourly pay rose 3.2% and prices 3.7%, so pay after inflation fell 0.5%.
How much has average pay grown?
Production and nonsupervisory pay averaged $14.01 an hour in 2000 and $31.34 in 2025: 124% more.