Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 3.1 percent in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Combined Statistical Area (CSA) for the year ending in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that one year ago, Philadelphia experienced an annual gain of 3.3 percent in compensation costs. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Nationwide, compensation costs rose 3.4 percent in March 2026.

  

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Chart 1. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation for private industry workers in the United States and Philadelphia, not seasonally adjusted

Quarter	United States	Philadelphia
Mar 2024	4.1	2.8
Jun	3.9	3.2
Sep	3.6	3.2
Dec	3.6	3.6
Mar 2025	3.4	3.3
Jun	3.5	3.7
Sep	3.5	3.4
Dec	3.4	3.1
Mar 2026	3.4	3.1

Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced at a 2.7-percent pace for the 12-month period ended March 2026. (See chart 2.) Nationwide, wages and salaries rose 3.4 percent over the same period.

  

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Chart 2. Twelve-month percent changes in wages and salaries for private industry workers in the United States and Philadelphia, not seasonally adjusted

Quarter	United States	Philadelphia
Mar 2024	4.3	3.0
Jun	4.1	3.2
Sep	3.8	3.4
Dec	3.7	4.0
Mar 2025	3.4	3.4
Jun	3.5	3.9
Sep	3.6	3.4
Dec	3.3	2.6
Mar 2026	3.4	2.7

Philadelphia is 1 of 15 metropolitan areas in the United States and 1 of 3 areas in the Northeast 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 4.7 percent in Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale to 0.3 percent in Houston-Pasadena in March 2026; for wages and salaries, Miami registered the largest increase (4.6 percent), and Minneapolis-St. Paul registered the smallest (1.0 percent). (See chart 3.)

  

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Chart 3. Twelve-month percent changes in total compensation and wages and salaries for private industry workers by area, not seasonally adjusted, March 2026

Area	Total compensation	Wages and salaries
Houston	0.3	3.4
Minneapolis	1.4	1.0
Dallas	2.3	1.8
Detroit	2.3	3.5
Atlanta	2.5	2.5
Boston	2.8	2.4
Philadelphia	3.1	2.7
Seattle	3.3	2.8
United States	3.4	3.4
New York	3.4	3.2
Los Angeles	3.5	3.1
Washington	3.7	3.8
San Jose	3.8	4.0
Chicago	4.1	4.1
Phoenix	4.3	4.2
Miami	4.7	4.6

The annual increase in compensation costs in Philadelphia was 3.1 percent in March 2026, compared to a 3.4-percent advance in New York-Newark and a 2.8-percent rise in Boston-Worcester-Providence. Philadelphia’s 2.7-percent gain in wages and salaries over this 12-month period compared to a 3.2-percent increase in New York and a 2.4-percent rise in Boston. (See table 2.)

The Employment Cost Index for June 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 31, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 Employment Cost Index 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 Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA includes Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; Kent and New Castle Counties in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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