Usual Weekly Earnings Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, July 21, 2026                                     USDL-26-1257 

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
                                     SECOND QUARTER 2026


Median weekly earnings of the nation's 120.9 million full-time wage and salary workers were
$1,251 in the second quarter of 2026 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. This was 4.6 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with
a gain of 3.9 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 second-quarter data: 

--Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,251 in the second quarter of 2026.
  Women had median weekly earnings of $1,131, or 82.0 percent of the $1,380 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 91.0 percent for Black
  women, 78.3 percent for Asian women, and 83.5 percent for Hispanic women. (See table 2.) 

--Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median earnings of full-time workers who are 
  Hispanic ($997) were lower than those who are Black ($1,029), White ($1,268) or Asian 
  ($1,713). By sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $1,089, or 77.8 percent of 
  the median for White men ($1,400). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $1,080, or 
  77.1 percent of the median for White men. The differences were smaller among women, as
  Black women's median earnings were $991, or 86.8 percent of those for White women 
  ($1,142), and earnings for Hispanic women were $902, or 79.0 percent of those for
  White women. Earnings of Asian men ($1,902) and women ($1,489) were higher than
  those of their White counterparts. (See table 2.)  

--By age, usual weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 54: median weekly earnings
  were $1,596 for men ages 35 to 44 and $1,571 for men ages 45 to 54. Among women, usual
  weekly earnings were highest for workers ages 35 to 54: median weekly earnings were $1,249
  for women ages 35 to 44 and $1,231 for women ages 45 to 54. Men and women ages 16 to 24
  had the lowest median weekly earnings, $839 and $764, respectively. Men's and women's 
  earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers; for example, women ages
  16 to 24 earned 91.1 percent as much as men in the same age group, while the
  women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 78.5 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--$1,928 for men and $1,476
  for women. People employed in service occupations earned the least--$920 for men and $730
  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 $803, high school graduates (no college) had earnings of $994,
  and those holding at least a bachelor's degree had earnings of $1,768. Among college
  graduates with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral degrees), the
  highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $5,363 or more per week, and their
  female counterparts made $3,676 or more per week. (See table 5.)

--Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings increased to $1,258 in the second quarter of
  2026, up from the previous quarter ($1,233). (See table 1.)