Median weekly earnings increased over the year for all major race and ethnicity groups

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. 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. 

Women had median weekly earnings of $1,131, or 82.0 percent of the $1,380 median for men. 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).

Over the year, women’s median weekly earnings increased by 4.9 percent, while men’s increased by 3.8 percent.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter 2026" and charts of usual weekly earnings data. Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or main job. The median is the midpoint in the earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less.