The Social Security and Medicare tax on an average salary is $5,699 a year in the U.S. as of October 2026. In 1950 it was $38.55, or $539 in today’s dollars. Adjusted for inflation, the payroll tax is 10.6 times as high as in 1950.
Price at the time In October 2026 dollars
U.S. social Security and Medicare, employee share, yearly, on the average wage. ≈ marks estimates between data points.
| Year | Price | In today’s dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | $38.55 | $539 |
| 1951 | $41.98 | $545 |
| 1952 | $44.59 | $565 |
| 1953 | $47.08 | $593 |
| 1954 | $63.12 | $794 |
| 1955 | $66.02 | $831 |
| 1956 | $70.64 | $876 |
| 1957 | $81.95 | $984 |
| 1958 | $82.66 | $965 |
| 1959 | $96.40 | $1,113 |
| 1960 | $120 | $1,370 |
| 1961 | $123 | $1,383 |
| 1962 | $134 | $1,498 |
| 1963 | $159 | $1,757 |
| 1964 | $166 | $1,805 |
| 1965 | $169 | $1,808 |
| 1966 | $207 | $2,152 |
| 1967 | $229 | $2,316 |
| 1968 | $245 | $2,376 |
| 1969 | $283 | $2,600 |
| 1970 | $297 | $2,581 |
| 1971 | $338 | $2,813 |
| 1972 | $371 | $2,993 |
| 1973 | $443 | $3,368 |
| 1974 | $470 | $3,214 |
| 1975 | $505 | $3,165 |
| 1976 | $540 | $3,199 |
| 1977 | $572 | $3,184 |
| 1978 | $639 | $3,304 |
| 1979 | $704 | $3,269 |
| 1980 | $767 | $3,140 |
| 1981 | $916 | $3,398 |
| 1982 | $974 | $3,403 |
| 1983 | $1,021 | $3,457 |
| 1984 | $1,129 | $3,666 |
| 1985 | $1,186 | $3,717 |
| 1986 | $1,239 | $3,811 |
| 1987 | $1,318 | $3,912 |
| 1988 | $1,452 | $4,139 |
| 1989 | $1,510 | $4,106 |
| 1990 | $1,609 | $4,151 |
| 1991 | $1,669 | $4,132 |
| 1992 | $1,755 | $4,218 |
| 1993 | $1,770 | $4,130 |
| 1994 | $1,817 | $4,135 |
| 1995 | $1,890 | $4,183 |
| 1996 | $1,982 | $4,264 |
| 1997 | $2,098 | $4,409 |
| 1998 | $2,208 | $4,568 |
| 1999 | $2,331 | $4,719 |
| 2000 | $2,460 | $4,818 |
| 2001 | $2,519 | $4,796 |
| 2002 | $2,544 | $4,769 |
| 2003 | $2,606 | $4,777 |
| 2004 | $2,727 | $4,869 |
| 2005 | $2,827 | $4,882 |
| 2006 | $2,957 | $4,947 |
| 2007 | $3,091 | $5,029 |
| 2008 | $3,162 | $4,953 |
| 2009 | $3,114 | $4,897 |
| 2010 | $3,188 | $4,930 |
| 2011 | $2,428 | $3,642 |
| 2012 | $2,504 | $3,678 |
| 2013 | $3,434 | $4,971 |
| 2014 | $3,556 | $5,067 |
| 2015 | $3,680 | $5,236 |
| 2016 | $3,721 | $5,229 |
| 2017 | $3,850 | $5,297 |
| 2018 | $3,989 | $5,358 |
| 2019 | $4,139 | $5,459 |
| 2020 | $4,256 | $5,551 |
| 2021 | $4,634 | $5,736 |
| 2022 | $4,880 | $5,555 |
| 2023 | $5,097 | $5,627 |
| 2024 | $5,343 | $5,732 |
| 2025 | $5,531 | $5,778 |
| Oct 2026 (latest) | $5,699 | $5,699 |
Among the 2,314 U.S. places with at least 20,000 people, as of October 2026. Scaled by local wages: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages county averages.
| San Jose, CA | $14,852 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $14,852 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $14,852 |
| Mountain View (city), CA | $14,852 |
| Milpitas, CA | $14,852 |
| Rexburg, ID | $3,192 |
| Alton, TX | $3,231 |
| Alamo, TX | $3,231 |
| San Juan (city), TX | $3,231 |
| Weslaco, TX | $3,231 |
Social Security Administration tax rates, applied to the national average wage.
The employee’s share of Social Security and Medicare on the average wage, including the 2011–2012 payroll tax cut.
For cities: Scaled by local wages: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages county averages.
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.
Average U.S. salary by yearWhat a dollar from each year is worth today
What everything cost in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020. All prices.