Wage Statistics for 2018

Social Security Online	Automatic Increases

Office of the Chief Actuary	Wage Statistics for 2018

Automatic increases

Development of the AWI

The national average wage index (AWI) is based on compensation (wages, tips, and the like) subject to Federal income taxes, as reported by employers on Forms W-2. Beginning with the AWI for 1991, compensation includes contributions to deferred compensation plans, but excludes certain distributions from plans where the distributions are included in the reported compensation subject to income taxes. We call the result of including contributions, and excluding certain distributions, net compensation. The table below summarizes the components of net compensation for 2018.

Net compensation components for 2018
Compensation subject to Federal income taxes $8,068,989,240,801.19

Deferred compensation plan
Contributions^a
Distributions^b
+ 317,553,567,481.16
- 3,002,179,766.84

Net compensation 8,383,540,628,515.51

^aWages on which contributions were paid by 61,607,387 workers.
^bDistributions, to the extent included in reported wages (see text above), paid to 63,661 workers.

The "raw" average wage, computed as net compensation divided by the number of wage earners, is $8,383,540,628,515.51 divided by 167,669,326, or $50,000.44. Based on data in the table below, about 67.4 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the $50,000.44 raw average wage. By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $32,838.05 for 2018.

Distribution of wage earners by level of net compensation

Wage earners Net compensation

Net compensation interval Number Cumulative
number Percent
of total Aggregate amount Average amount

$0.01 — 4,999.99 20,912,646 20,912,646 12.47255 $43,795,099,366.21 $2,094.19

5,000.00 — 9,999.99 12,993,812 33,906,458 20.22222 96,170,371,134.60 7,401.24

10,000.00 — 14,999.99 11,550,542 45,457,000 27.11110 143,915,223,674.78 12,459.61

15,000.00 — 19,999.99 10,937,984 56,394,984 33.63465 191,083,130,375.42 17,469.68

20,000.00 — 24,999.99 10,930,426 67,325,410 40.15368 245,963,571,026.59 22,502.65

25,000.00 — 29,999.99 10,649,685 77,975,095 46.50528 292,595,699,011.64 27,474.59

30,000.00 — 34,999.99 10,157,201 88,132,296 52.56316 329,598,837,106.29 32,449.77

35,000.00 — 39,999.99 9,281,197 97,413,493 58.09858 347,575,046,812.88 37,449.38

40,000.00 — 44,999.99 8,242,459 105,655,952 63.01448 349,799,179,987.80 42,438.69

45,000.00 — 49,999.99 7,405,906 113,061,858 67.43145 351,372,718,041.82 47,444.93

50,000.00 — 54,999.99 6,542,812 119,604,670 71.33366 343,025,577,206.83 52,427.85

55,000.00 — 59,999.99 5,612,864 125,217,534 74.68124 322,379,314,296.40 57,435.80

60,000.00 — 64,999.99 4,920,595 130,138,129 77.61594 307,114,651,240.23 62,414.13

65,000.00 — 69,999.99 4,239,330 134,377,459 80.14433 285,846,106,689.33 67,427.19

70,000.00 — 74,999.99 3,682,829 138,060,288 82.34081 266,740,577,128.07 72,428.17

75,000.00 — 79,999.99 3,208,818 141,269,106 84.25459 248,463,045,944.21 77,431.33

80,000.00 — 84,999.99 2,780,381 144,049,487 85.91284 229,208,728,016.53 82,437.88

85,000.00 — 89,999.99 2,403,623 146,453,110 87.34639 210,164,860,939.67 87,436.70

90,000.00 — 94,999.99 2,117,062 148,570,172 88.60904 195,678,875,591.61 92,429.45

95,000.00 — 99,999.99 1,836,034 150,406,206 89.70407 178,907,004,914.35 97,442.10

100,000.00 — 104,999.99 1,625,690 152,031,896 90.67365 166,523,614,588.61 102,432.58

105,000.00 — 109,999.99 1,410,799 153,442,695 91.51507 151,582,528,351.71 107,444.45

110,000.00 — 114,999.99 1,251,905 154,694,600 92.26172 140,759,527,453.30 112,436.27

115,000.00 — 119,999.99 1,112,417 155,807,017 92.92518 130,658,936,970.24 117,455.00

120,000.00 — 124,999.99 1,008,410 156,815,427 93.52660 123,445,569,084.30 122,416.05

125,000.00 — 129,999.99 893,730 157,709,157 94.05964 113,899,350,244.55 127,442.68

130,000.00 — 134,999.99 795,949 158,505,106 94.53435 105,394,346,162.49 132,413.44

135,000.00 — 139,999.99 704,467 159,209,573 94.95450 96,825,136,762.18 137,444.53

140,000.00 — 144,999.99 632,559 159,842,132 95.33177 90,103,990,021.70 142,443.61

145,000.00 — 149,999.99 568,126 160,410,258 95.67060 83,773,312,894.63 147,455.52

150,000.00 — 154,999.99 514,078 160,924,336 95.97721 78,345,402,361.02 152,399.83

155,000.00 — 159,999.99 457,177 161,381,513 96.24987 71,980,277,465.39 157,445.10

160,000.00 — 164,999.99 413,863 161,795,376 96.49671 67,227,968,053.70 162,440.15

165,000.00 — 169,999.99 369,549 162,164,925 96.71711 61,877,593,240.22 167,440.84

170,000.00 — 174,999.99 327,834 162,492,759 96.91263 56,534,539,025.14 172,448.68

175,000.00 — 179,999.99 297,171 162,789,930 97.08987 52,729,141,686.28 177,437.04

180,000.00 — 184,999.99 275,711 163,065,641 97.25431 50,292,801,283.59 182,411.30

185,000.00 — 189,999.99 246,893 163,312,534 97.40156 46,281,835,141.84 187,457.06

190,000.00 — 194,999.99 227,017 163,539,551 97.53695 43,688,908,036.57 192,447.74

195,000.00 — 199,999.99 213,964 163,753,515 97.66456 42,253,967,707.90 197,481.67

200,000.00 — 249,999.99 1,422,744 165,176,259 98.51310 315,840,558,223.01 221,993.95

250,000.00 — 299,999.99 770,463 165,946,722 98.97262 210,183,088,243.46 272,801.01

300,000.00 — 349,999.99 465,576 166,412,298 99.25029 150,344,927,027.33 322,922.42

350,000.00 — 399,999.99 301,514 166,713,812 99.43012 112,548,961,845.06 373,279.39

400,000.00 — 449,999.99 207,014 166,920,826 99.55359 87,659,845,451.61 423,448.88

450,000.00 — 499,999.99 145,935 167,066,761 99.64062 69,122,112,993.00 473,650.00

500,000.00 — 999,999.99 446,625 167,513,386 99.90700 296,291,408,374.06 663,400.86

1,000,000.00 — 1,499,999.99 79,292 167,592,678 99.95429 95,099,320,931.96 1,199,355.81

1,500,000.00 — 1,999,999.99 28,756 167,621,434 99.97144 49,367,971,329.43 1,716,788.54

2,000,000.00 — 2,499,999.99 14,321 167,635,755 99.97998 31,866,540,833.10 2,225,161.71

2,500,000.00 — 2,999,999.99 8,173 167,643,928 99.98485 22,303,744,889.78 2,728,954.47

3,000,000.00 — 3,499,999.99 5,302 167,649,230 99.98801 17,132,086,593.98 3,231,249.83

3,500,000.00 — 3,999,999.99 3,634 167,652,864 99.99018 13,569,833,052.39 3,734,131.27

4,000,000.00 — 4,499,999.99 2,719 167,655,583 99.99180 11,502,119,789.27 4,230,275.76

4,500,000.00 — 4,999,999.99 2,024 167,657,607 99.99301 9,581,300,012.15 4,733,843.88

5,000,000.00 — 9,999,999.99 7,861 167,665,468 99.99770 53,257,917,392.30 6,774,954.51

10,000,000.00 — 19,999,999.99 2,684 167,668,152 99.99930 36,478,246,019.07 13,591,000.75

20,000,000.00 — 49,999,999.99 963 167,669,115 99.99987 27,613,022,901.01 28,673,959.40

50,000,000.00 and over 211 167,669,326 100.00000 20,201,257,572.92 95,740,557.22

**Distribution of wage earners by level of net compensation**
	Wage earners	Net compensation
$0.01 — 4,999.99	20,912,646	20,912,646	12.47255	$43,795,099,366.21	$2,094.19
5,000.00 — 9,999.99	12,993,812	33,906,458	20.22222	96,170,371,134.60	7,401.24
10,000.00 — 14,999.99	11,550,542	45,457,000	27.11110	143,915,223,674.78	12,459.61
15,000.00 — 19,999.99	10,937,984	56,394,984	33.63465	191,083,130,375.42	17,469.68
20,000.00 — 24,999.99	10,930,426	67,325,410	40.15368	245,963,571,026.59	22,502.65
25,000.00 — 29,999.99	10,649,685	77,975,095	46.50528	292,595,699,011.64	27,474.59
30,000.00 — 34,999.99	10,157,201	88,132,296	52.56316	329,598,837,106.29	32,449.77
35,000.00 — 39,999.99	9,281,197	97,413,493	58.09858	347,575,046,812.88	37,449.38
40,000.00 — 44,999.99	8,242,459	105,655,952	63.01448	349,799,179,987.80	42,438.69
45,000.00 — 49,999.99	7,405,906	113,061,858	67.43145	351,372,718,041.82	47,444.93
50,000.00 — 54,999.99	6,542,812	119,604,670	71.33366	343,025,577,206.83	52,427.85
55,000.00 — 59,999.99	5,612,864	125,217,534	74.68124	322,379,314,296.40	57,435.80
60,000.00 — 64,999.99	4,920,595	130,138,129	77.61594	307,114,651,240.23	62,414.13
65,000.00 — 69,999.99	4,239,330	134,377,459	80.14433	285,846,106,689.33	67,427.19
70,000.00 — 74,999.99	3,682,829	138,060,288	82.34081	266,740,577,128.07	72,428.17
75,000.00 — 79,999.99	3,208,818	141,269,106	84.25459	248,463,045,944.21	77,431.33
80,000.00 — 84,999.99	2,780,381	144,049,487	85.91284	229,208,728,016.53	82,437.88
85,000.00 — 89,999.99	2,403,623	146,453,110	87.34639	210,164,860,939.67	87,436.70
90,000.00 — 94,999.99	2,117,062	148,570,172	88.60904	195,678,875,591.61	92,429.45
95,000.00 — 99,999.99	1,836,034	150,406,206	89.70407	178,907,004,914.35	97,442.10
100,000.00 — 104,999.99	1,625,690	152,031,896	90.67365	166,523,614,588.61	102,432.58
105,000.00 — 109,999.99	1,410,799	153,442,695	91.51507	151,582,528,351.71	107,444.45
110,000.00 — 114,999.99	1,251,905	154,694,600	92.26172	140,759,527,453.30	112,436.27
115,000.00 — 119,999.99	1,112,417	155,807,017	92.92518	130,658,936,970.24	117,455.00
120,000.00 — 124,999.99	1,008,410	156,815,427	93.52660	123,445,569,084.30	122,416.05
125,000.00 — 129,999.99	893,730	157,709,157	94.05964	113,899,350,244.55	127,442.68
130,000.00 — 134,999.99	795,949	158,505,106	94.53435	105,394,346,162.49	132,413.44
135,000.00 — 139,999.99	704,467	159,209,573	94.95450	96,825,136,762.18	137,444.53
140,000.00 — 144,999.99	632,559	159,842,132	95.33177	90,103,990,021.70	142,443.61
145,000.00 — 149,999.99	568,126	160,410,258	95.67060	83,773,312,894.63	147,455.52
150,000.00 — 154,999.99	514,078	160,924,336	95.97721	78,345,402,361.02	152,399.83
155,000.00 — 159,999.99	457,177	161,381,513	96.24987	71,980,277,465.39	157,445.10
160,000.00 — 164,999.99	413,863	161,795,376	96.49671	67,227,968,053.70	162,440.15
165,000.00 — 169,999.99	369,549	162,164,925	96.71711	61,877,593,240.22	167,440.84
170,000.00 — 174,999.99	327,834	162,492,759	96.91263	56,534,539,025.14	172,448.68
175,000.00 — 179,999.99	297,171	162,789,930	97.08987	52,729,141,686.28	177,437.04
180,000.00 — 184,999.99	275,711	163,065,641	97.25431	50,292,801,283.59	182,411.30
185,000.00 — 189,999.99	246,893	163,312,534	97.40156	46,281,835,141.84	187,457.06
190,000.00 — 194,999.99	227,017	163,539,551	97.53695	43,688,908,036.57	192,447.74
195,000.00 — 199,999.99	213,964	163,753,515	97.66456	42,253,967,707.90	197,481.67
200,000.00 — 249,999.99	1,422,744	165,176,259	98.51310	315,840,558,223.01	221,993.95
250,000.00 — 299,999.99	770,463	165,946,722	98.97262	210,183,088,243.46	272,801.01
300,000.00 — 349,999.99	465,576	166,412,298	99.25029	150,344,927,027.33	322,922.42
350,000.00 — 399,999.99	301,514	166,713,812	99.43012	112,548,961,845.06	373,279.39
400,000.00 — 449,999.99	207,014	166,920,826	99.55359	87,659,845,451.61	423,448.88
450,000.00 — 499,999.99	145,935	167,066,761	99.64062	69,122,112,993.00	473,650.00
500,000.00 — 999,999.99	446,625	167,513,386	99.90700	296,291,408,374.06	663,400.86
1,000,000.00 — 1,499,999.99	79,292	167,592,678	99.95429	95,099,320,931.96	1,199,355.81
1,500,000.00 — 1,999,999.99	28,756	167,621,434	99.97144	49,367,971,329.43	1,716,788.54
2,000,000.00 — 2,499,999.99	14,321	167,635,755	99.97998	31,866,540,833.10	2,225,161.71
2,500,000.00 — 2,999,999.99	8,173	167,643,928	99.98485	22,303,744,889.78	2,728,954.47
3,000,000.00 — 3,499,999.99	5,302	167,649,230	99.98801	17,132,086,593.98	3,231,249.83
3,500,000.00 — 3,999,999.99	3,634	167,652,864	99.99018	13,569,833,052.39	3,734,131.27
4,000,000.00 — 4,499,999.99	2,719	167,655,583	99.99180	11,502,119,789.27	4,230,275.76
4,500,000.00 — 4,999,999.99	2,024	167,657,607	99.99301	9,581,300,012.15	4,733,843.88
5,000,000.00 — 9,999,999.99	7,861	167,665,468	99.99770	53,257,917,392.30	6,774,954.51
10,000,000.00 — 19,999,999.99	2,684	167,668,152	99.99930	36,478,246,019.07	13,591,000.75
20,000,000.00 — 49,999,999.99	963	167,669,115	99.99987	27,613,022,901.01	28,673,959.40
50,000,000.00 and over	211	167,669,326	100.00000	20,201,257,572.92	95,740,557.22


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