Usual Weekly Earnings Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, October 21, 2026                                USDL-26-1604                                   

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps 
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                        USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS
                                       THIRD QUARTER 2026


Median weekly earnings of the nation's 122.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were
$1,232 in the third quarter of 2026 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. This was 1.5 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a
gain of 3.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same
period.

Data on usual weekly earnings are collected as part of the Current Population Survey, a
nationwide sample survey of households in which respondents are asked, among other things, how
much each wage and salary worker usually earns. (See the Technical Note in this news release.)
Data shown in this news release are not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.

Highlights from the third-quarter data:

 --Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,232 in the third quarter of 2026. Women
   had median weekly earnings of $1,127, or 83.4 percent of the $1,352 median for men. 
   (See table 2.)

 --The women's-to-men's earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women earned 81.6
   percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 95.6 percent for Black women,
   81.8 percent for Asian women, and 89.4 percent for Hispanic women. (See table 2.)

 --Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings of full-time workers who
   are Hispanic ($981) were lower than those who are Black ($1,012), White ($1,261), or Asian
   ($1,633). By sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $1,040, or 74.6 percent of the
   median for White men ($1,394). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $1,028, or 73.7
   percent of the median for White men. The differences were smaller among women, as Black
   women's median earnings were $994, or 87.4 percent of those for White women ($1,137), and
   earnings for Hispanic women were $919, or 80.8 percent of those for White women. Earnings
   of Asian men ($1,841) and women ($1,506) were higher than those of their White counterparts.
   (See table 2.) 

 --By age, usual weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 64. Median weekly earnings
   were $1,536 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,563 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,545 for men ages 55
   to 64. Among women, usual weekly earnings were also highest for workers ages 35 to 64.
   Median weekly earnings were $1,263 for women ages 35 to 44, $1,230 for women ages 45 to 54,
   and $1,177 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median
   weekly earnings, $813 and $720, respectively. Men's and women's earnings were closer among
   younger workers than older workers; for example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 88.6 percent as
   much as men in the same age group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 78.1
   percent for those age 55 and over. (See table 3.) 

 --Among the major occupational groups, people employed full time in management, professional,
   and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,910 for men and $1,493
   for women. Men and women employed in service occupations earned the least, $876 and $760,
   respectively. (See table 4.)

 --By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma
   had median weekly earnings of $819, compared with $993 for high school graduates (no
   college) and $1,752 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree. Among college graduates
   with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral degrees), the highest earning
   10 percent of male workers made $4,985 or more per week, compared with $3,572 or more for
   their female counterparts. (See table 5.)

 --Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $1,239 in the third quarter of 2026, down
   from the previous quarter ($1,258). (See table 1.)


 _____________________________________________________________________________________________
|											      |
|                 Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Usual Weekly Earnings Data		      |
|											      |
| The Usual Weekly Earnings news release for the fourth quarter of 2026 will incorporate      |
| annual revisions to seasonally adjusted data for the number of full-time wage and salary    |
| workers and median weekly earnings in current dollars. (See table 1.) Estimates for	      |
| constant (1982-84) dollar median weekly earnings also will be affected by revisions to the  |
| current dollar series. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to the first quarter of 2022      |
| will be subject to revision.								      |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|