The average salary is $74,499 a year in the U.S. as of October 2026. In 1950 it was $2,570, or $35,965 in today’s dollars. Adjusted for inflation, the average salary is 2.1 times as high as in 1950.
Price at the time In October 2026 dollars
U.S. average yearly wage. ≈ marks estimates between data points.
| Year | Price | In today’s dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $2,570 | $35,965 |
| 1951 | $2,799 | $36,308 |
| 1952 | $2,973 | $37,695 |
| 1953 | $3,139 | $39,502 |
| 1954 | $3,156 | $39,716 |
| 1955 | $3,301 | $41,541 |
| 1956 | $3,532 | $43,794 |
| 1957 | $3,642 | $43,712 |
| 1958 | $3,674 | $42,875 |
| 1959 | $3,856 | $44,537 |
| 1960 | $4,007 | $45,656 |
| 1961 | $4,087 | $46,100 |
| 1962 | $4,291 | $47,920 |
| 1963 | $4,397 | $48,462 |
| 1964 | $4,576 | $49,784 |
| 1965 | $4,659 | $49,883 |
| 1966 | $4,938 | $51,243 |
| 1967 | $5,213 | $52,639 |
| 1968 | $5,572 | $54,001 |
| 1969 | $5,894 | $54,164 |
| 1970 | $6,186 | $53,771 |
| 1971 | $6,497 | $54,103 |
| 1972 | $7,134 | $57,560 |
| 1973 | $7,580 | $57,578 |
| 1974 | $8,031 | $54,940 |
| 1975 | $8,631 | $54,106 |
| 1976 | $9,226 | $54,685 |
| 1977 | $9,779 | $54,424 |
| 1978 | $10,556 | $54,603 |
| 1979 | $11,479 | $53,325 |
| 1980 | $12,513 | $51,216 |
| 1981 | $13,773 | $51,101 |
| 1982 | $14,531 | $50,785 |
| 1983 | $15,239 | $51,602 |
| 1984 | $16,135 | $52,375 |
| 1985 | $16,823 | $52,730 |
| 1986 | $17,322 | $53,303 |
| 1987 | $18,427 | $54,707 |
| 1988 | $19,334 | $55,119 |
| 1989 | $20,100 | $54,669 |
| 1990 | $21,028 | $54,261 |
| 1991 | $21,812 | $54,011 |
| 1992 | $22,935 | $55,133 |
| 1993 | $23,133 | $53,992 |
| 1994 | $23,754 | $54,057 |
| 1995 | $24,706 | $54,674 |
| 1996 | $25,914 | $55,739 |
| 1997 | $27,426 | $57,631 |
| 1998 | $28,861 | $59,716 |
| 1999 | $30,470 | $61,683 |
| 2000 | $32,155 | $62,977 |
| 2001 | $32,922 | $62,695 |
| 2002 | $33,252 | $62,338 |
| 2003 | $34,065 | $62,439 |
| 2004 | $35,649 | $63,648 |
| 2005 | $36,953 | $63,814 |
| 2006 | $38,651 | $64,660 |
| 2007 | $40,405 | $65,736 |
| 2008 | $41,335 | $64,750 |
| 2009 | $40,712 | $64,012 |
| 2010 | $41,674 | $64,443 |
| 2011 | $42,980 | $64,453 |
| 2012 | $44,322 | $65,105 |
| 2013 | $44,888 | $64,974 |
| 2014 | $46,482 | $66,230 |
| 2015 | $48,099 | $68,447 |
| 2016 | $48,642 | $68,355 |
| 2017 | $50,322 | $69,244 |
| 2018 | $52,146 | $70,039 |
| 2019 | $54,100 | $71,357 |
| 2020 | $55,629 | $72,563 |
| 2021 | $60,576 | $74,984 |
| 2022 | $63,795 | $72,617 |
| 2023 | $66,621 | $73,560 |
| 2024 | $69,846 | $74,928 |
| 2025 | $72,300 | $75,529 |
| Oct 2026 (latest) | $74,499 | $74,499 |
Among the 2,314 U.S. places with at least 20,000 people, as of October 2026. Local wages: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages county average weekly wage, weighted by employment for places that span several counties.
| San Jose, CA | $194,143 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $194,143 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $194,143 |
| Mountain View (city), CA | $194,143 |
| Milpitas, CA | $194,143 |
| Rexburg, ID | $41,719 |
| Alton, TX | $42,241 |
| Alamo, TX | $42,241 |
| San Juan (city), TX | $42,241 |
| Weslaco, TX | $42,241 |
Social Security Administration, national average wage index.
Salary is the average yearly wage.
For cities: Local wages: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages county average weekly wage, weighted by employment for places that span several counties.
Each year shows the U.S. figure at midyear. Years marked ≈ fall between this series’ data points and are estimated by smooth interpolation between them. Today’s dollars use the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). How it works.
What a dollar from each year is worth todayPayroll tax on the average salary, by year
What everything cost in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020. All prices.