Usual Weekly Earnings Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, December 4, 2025		                       USDL-25-1529

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 2025


Median weekly earnings of the nation's 122.6 million full-time wage and salary workers were
$1,214 in the third quarter of 2025 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. This was 4.2 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a
gain of 2.9 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 $1,214 in the third quarter of 2025. Women
   had median weekly earnings of $1,076, or 80.7 percent of the $1,333 median for men. (See
   table 2.) 

 --The women's-to-men's earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women earned 81.0
   percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 89.8 percent for Black women,
   78.7 percent for Asian women, and 89.5 percent for Hispanic women. (See table 2.) 

 --Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median earnings of people who are Hispanic
   ($944) and Black ($970) were lower than those who are White ($1,238) and Asian ($1,620). By
   sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $1,032, or 75.8 percent of the median for
   White men ($1,362). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $994, or 73.0 percent of the
   median for White men. The differences were smaller among women, as Black women's median
   earnings were $927, or 84.0 percent of those for White women ($1,103), and earnings for
   Hispanic women were $890, or 80.7 percent of those for White women. Earnings of Asian men
   ($1,831) and women ($1,441) 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 $1,504 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,497 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,481 for men ages
   55 to 64. Among women, usual weekly earnings were highest for workers ages 35 to 54: median
   weekly earnings were $1,226 for women ages 35 to 44 and $1,192 for women ages 45 to 54. Men
   and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, $802 and $715, respectively.
   Men's and women's earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers; for
   example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 89.2 percent as much as men in the same age group,
   while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 77.5 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--$1,912 for men and $1,466
   for women. People employed in service occupations earned the least--$897 for men and $747
   for women. (See table 4.) 

 --By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma
   had median weekly earnings of $777, high school graduates (no college) had earnings of
   $980, and those holding a bachelor's degree and higher had earnings of $1,747. Among
   college graduates with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral degrees), the
   highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $4,809 or more per week, and their female
   counterparts made $3,697 or more. (See table 5.) 

 --Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $1,215 in the third quarter of 2025, little
   changed from the previous quarter ($1,206). (See table 1.)


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|											       |
|                               Federal Government Shutdown			               |
|											       |
| Publication of third quarter data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in     |
| federal appropriations. Collection of third quarter data had been completed in accordance    |
| with our normal schedule prior to the federal government shutdown. 			       |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________|


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|											       |
|                    Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Usual Weekly Earnings Data	               |
|											       |
| The Usual Weekly Earnings news release for the fourth quarter of 2025 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 2021 will be       |
| subject to revision.									       |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________|