News Release Information
25-1593-PHI
Friday, December 12, 2025
Changing Compensation Costs in the Washington Metropolitan Area — September 2025
Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.2 percent in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ending in September 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that one year ago, Washington experienced an annual gain of 3.6 percent in compensation costs. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Nationwide, compensation costs rose 3.5 percent in September 2025.
Chart 1. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation for private industry workers in the United States and Washington, not seasonally adjusted| Quarter | United States | Washington |
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Sep 2023 | 4.3 | 5.2 |
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Dec | 4.1 | 4.4 |
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Mar | 4.1 | 4.5 |
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Jun | 3.9 | 4.3 |
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Sep 2024 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
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Dec | 3.6 | 3.7 |
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Mar | 3.4 | 2.6 |
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Jun | 3.5 | 2.5 |
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Sep 2025 | 3.5 | 2.2 |
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Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced at a 1.9-percent pace for the 12-month period ended September 2025. (See chart 2.) Nationwide, wages and salaries rose 3.6 percent over the same period.
Chart 2. Twelve-month percent changes in wages and salaries for private industry workers in the United States and Washington, not seasonally adjusted| Quarter | United States | Washington |
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Sep 2023 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
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Dec | 4.3 | 4.9 |
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Mar | 4.3 | 5.1 |
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Jun | 4.1 | 4.9 |
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Sep 2024 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
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Dec | 3.7 | 3.9 |
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Mar | 3.4 | 2.5 |
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Jun | 3.5 | 2.1 |
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Sep 2025 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
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Washington is 1 of 15 metropolitan areas in the United States and 1 of 5 areas in the South region of the country for which locality compensation cost data are available. Among these 15 largest areas, over-the-year percentage changes in compensation costs ranged from 5.7 percent in Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale to 2.1 percent in Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor in September 2025; for wages and salaries, Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale registered the largest increase (5.9 percent), and Washington registered the smallest (1.9 percent). (See chart 3.)
Chart 3. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation and wages and salaries for private industry workers by area, not seasonally adjusted, September 2025| Area | Total compensation | Wages and salaries |
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Detroit | 2.1 | 3.3 |
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Washington | 2.2 | 1.9 |
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Atlanta | 2.9 | 2.8 |
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Phoenix | 3.1 | 2.6 |
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Boston | 3.3 | 3.2 |
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Los Angeles | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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Philadelphia | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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United States | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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Dallas | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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Minneapolis | 3.7 | 3.6 |
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San Jose | 3.7 | 3.9 |
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New York | 3.8 | 3.9 |
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Chicago | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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Houston | 4.5 | 5.0 |
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Seattle | 4.7 | 4.3 |
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Miami | 5.7 | 5.9 |
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The annual increase in compensation costs in Washington was 2.2 percent in September 2025, compared to advances that ranged from 5.7 percent to 2.9 percent in the four other metropolitan areas in the South (Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Pasadena, and Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale). Washington’s 1.9-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to rates ranging from 5.9 percent to 2.8 percent in the four other southern localities. (See table 2.)
The Employment Cost Index for December 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Federal Government Shutdown
Publication of the September 2025 Employment Cost Index (ECI) was delayed by more than 5 weeks because of the lapse in federal appropriations. Collection of September data had not been completed prior to the federal government shutdown. After funding had been restored, any data self-reported by establishments during the shutdown were reviewed and included; however, survey response rates decreased in September. More information on response rates is available online.
The December 2025 ECI news release has been rescheduled and will be published on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Technical Note
Locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures quarterly changes in compensation costs (wages and salaries and employer costs for employee benefits) free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. More information can be found in the national Employment Cost Index Technical Note. For information on survey concepts, coverage, methods, nonresponse adjustment, and imputation see the National Compensation Measures Handbook of Methods.
In addition to the data presented here, ECI national data by industry, occupational group, and union status, as well as data for civilian, private, and state and local government employees, are available on the Employment Cost Index website. The national Employment Cost Index Summary is also available online. Additional information for regions, states, and local areas may be accessed via our Mid-Atlantic Information Office regional homepage.
The substate area data published in this news release reflect the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 23-01, dated July 21, 2023. See the Tracking Wage Growth in American Cities page for more information on available geographies and their historical timelines.
The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA includes the District of Columbia; Baltimore city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Talbot, and Washington Counties in Maryland; Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester cities and Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Orange, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties in Virginia; Berkeley, Hampshire, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties in West Virginia; and Franklin County in Pennsylvania.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Table 1. Employment Cost Index 12-month percent changes for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry workers, United States, South Census region, and the Washington area, not seasonally adjusted| Area | Total compensation (%) | Wages and salaries (%) |
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| Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. | Mar. | Jun. | Sep. | Dec. |
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United States | |
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2021 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
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2022 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
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2023 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
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2024 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
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2025 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | |
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South | |
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2021 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
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2022 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 5.1 |
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2023 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.6 |
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2024 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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2025 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | |
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Washington-Baltimore-Arlington | |
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2021 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.2 |
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2022 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
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2023 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.9 |
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2024 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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2025 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.9 | |
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Table 2. Employment Cost Index 12-month percent changes for total compensation and for wages and salaries, private industry workers, United States, Census regions, and localities, not seasonally adjusted| Area | Total compensation (%) | Wages and salaries (%) |
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| Sep. 2024 | Jun. 2025 | Sep. 2025 | Sep. 2024 | Jun. 2025 | Sep. 2025 |
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United States | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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Northeast | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
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Boston-Worcester-Providence | 1.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 3.2 |
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New York-Newark | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
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Philadelphia-Reading-Camden | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
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South | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
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Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs | 4.8 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
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Dallas-Fort Worth | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
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Houston-Pasadena | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
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Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale | 2.2 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 5.9 |
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Washington-Baltimore-Arlington | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 1.9 |
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Midwest | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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Chicago-Naperville | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
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Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor | 5.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
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Minneapolis-St. Paul | 4.1 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 3.6 |
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West | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
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Los Angeles-Long Beach | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.4 |
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Phoenix-Mesa | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
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San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland | 5.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
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Seattle-Tacoma | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.3 |
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United States Department of Labor
