Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $41.59 per hour in the South to $54.61 in the Northeast in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In the other two regions, hourly employer costs for employee compensation stood at $43.82 in the Midwest and $51.16 in the West. (See chart 1.) In addition to regional estimates, employer costs for nine smaller geographic divisions are also available. Within divisions, total compensation costs ranged from $37.29 per hour in the East South Central division to $55.14 in the Pacific region. (See table 1.) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits. (Geographic definitions of the regions and divisions follow in the Technical Note.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Employer costs per employee hour worked by region, private industry, March 2026

Private Industry	Wages and salaries	Benefits	Total compensation
United States	$32.60	$14.01	$46.60
Northeast	$37.43	$17.19	$54.61
West	$35.62	$15.55	$51.16
Midwest	$30.34	$13.48	$43.82
South	$29.77	$11.82	$41.59

In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs in March 2026 were comprised of the following: wages and salaries ($37.43) made up 68.5 percent, while total benefits ($17.19) accounted for the remaining 31.5 percent of compensation costs. Insurance, which includes life, health, and short- and long-term disability, averaged $4.68 per hour worked, or 8.6 percent of all compensation costs. Costs for paid leave, which include vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, averaged $4.63 per hour worked, accounting for 8.5 percent of total compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both state and federal), and workers' compensation, averaged $3.93 per hour and represented 7.2 percent of total compensation costs.

In the West, hourly wages and salaries averaged $35.62 and accounted for 69.6 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $15.55, or 30.4 percent of compensation costs. Paid leave averaged $3.94 per hour, or 7.7 percent of compensation costs. Legally required benefits costs were $3.90 per hour, or 7.6 percent of regional compensation costs. Insurance costs averaged $3.62 per hour, accounting for 7.1 percent of total compensation costs in the West.

The Midwest region recorded an hourly wage and salary average of $30.34 in March 2026, representing 69.2 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $13.48 and accounted for the remaining 30.8 percent of total compensation costs. The three highest major categories for employer benefits were insurance benefits ($3.69 per hour worked), legally required benefits ($3.15), and paid leave ($3.14). These categories represented 8.4 percent, 7.2 percent, and 7.2 percent, respectively, of total employer compensation costs in the Midwest.

In the South, wages and salaries averaged $29.77 per hour and comprised 71.6 percent of total employer compensation costs, while benefits, at $11.82 per hour, accounted for the remaining 28.4 percent. Insurance benefits costs averaged $3.06 per hour worked, followed by paid leave at $3.02 per hour; these categories accounted for 7.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, of total compensation costs in the South. Legally required benefits were the third-highest benefit cost and averaged $2.91 per hour, accounting for 7.0 percent of employer compensation for the region.

Overall, compensation costs among private industry employers in the United States averaged $46.60 per hour worked in March 2026. Wages and salaries, at $32.60 per hour, accounted for 69.9 percent of these costs, while benefits, at $14.01, made up the remaining 30.1 percent.

The June 2026 national release on Employer Costs for Employee Compensation is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) provides the average employer cost for wages and salaries as well as benefits per employee hour worked.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data in this release cover private industry. Excluded from private industry are the self-employed, agricultural workers, and private household workers. Data for this reference period were collected from a probability sample of approximately 28,500 occupational observations selected from a sample of about 6,700 private industry establishments. The private industry sample is rotated over approximately three years, which makes the sample more representative of the economy and reduces respondent burden. Data are collected for the pay period including the 12^th day of the survey months of March, June, September, and December.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data on total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefits in private industry are produced annually in the March reference period for 15 combined and metropolitan statistical areas (CSA and MSA). Further information about metropolitan area ECEC estimates is available at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/bls-introduces-new-employer-costs-for-employee-compensation-data-for-private-industry-workers-in-15-metropolitan-areas.pdf.

For detailed information on ECEC, see “National Compensation Measures,” of the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm. Current and historical BLS data are also available online at www.bls.gov/ecec.

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Regional definitions

Northeast region

• New England division: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Middle Atlantic division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

Midwest region

• East North Central division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
• West North Central division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

South region

• South Atlantic division: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
• East South Central division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
• West South Central division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

West region

• Mountain division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
• Pacific division: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington