Key points from the chart
- The chart shows cumulative growth in real hourly wages for five US income groups from 1979 (0%) to 2023, with wages adjusted into 2023 dollars.
- High-wage workers at the 90th percentile gained the most, 46.2%. The other four groups gained between 17.0% and 23.4%.
- Low-wage workers at the 10th percentile spent most of the period below their 1979 level and only moved clearly above it in the late 2010s, finishing at 17.0%.
- Average hourly wages in 2023 ranged from $13.5 for the low-wage group to $57.8 for the high-wage group.
The real wage growth US chart in text
Title: Real Wage Growth by Income Group in the U.S. Description: represents the cumulative growth in real hourly wages. The vertical axis runs from minus 20% to 30% and the horizontal axis from 1980 to 2023. Only the 2023 end points are labelled.
| Income group | Percentile | Cumulative real wage growth, 1979 to 2023 | Average hourly wage, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-wage | 10th percentile | +17.0% | $13.5 |
| Lower-middle | Average of 20th to 40th | +20.8% | $18.0 |
| Middle-wage | Average of 40th to 60th | +17.4% | $23.8 |
| Upper-middle | Average of 60th to 80th | +23.4% | $33.9 |
| High-wage | 90th percentile | +46.2% | $57.8 |
The hourly wages are shown as stacks of coins of rising height in an inset titled Average Hourly Wages by Income Group in 2023. Source: Economic Policy Institute. Footnote: wages are adjusted into 2023 dollars. Made by Voronoi by Visual Capitalist.
Shape of the lines. The high-wage line rises fairly steadily over the whole period and peaks around 2020 before easing back. The upper-middle line stays close to zero through the 1980s and 1990s, then rises from the 2000s. The lower-middle and middle-wage lines dip below zero in the 1980s and 1990s and recover in the 2000s. The low-wage line falls furthest, to below minus 15% in the late 1980s, stays negative into the 2010s and then climbs quickly, with a jump around 2020.
What the chart says about the gap between groups
Voronoi’s notes on the chart say that since 1979 the top earners in America have seen their real wages grow at more than double the rate of every other income group [1]. The labels bear this out: 46.2% for the 90th percentile against 23.4% for the next highest group.
The pattern changed during the pandemic. Voronoi says real wages grew fastest for low-income workers between 2019 and 2023, rising by a cumulative 12.1%, while middle-income workers, with an average hourly wage of $23.79, saw a cumulative rise of 3.0% [1]. That late surge is why the low-wage line, which was below zero for most of the period, ends almost level with the middle-wage line.
Voronoi also notes that the top income tax rate fell from 70% in 1979 to 37% [1]. The chart itself does not show tax rates.
Notes on this infographic
- Cumulative, not annual. Each figure is total growth since 1979, not a yearly rate. A 17.0% rise over the 44 years from 1979 to 2023 works out at about 0.4% a year.
- Hourly wages only. The chart measures hourly pay. It does not cover hours worked, benefits or total household income.
- Underlying data. The source is the Economic Policy Institute. We could not open the EPI’s data page, which blocked our access, so the figures here are as printed on the chart and in Voronoi’s notes.
Questions about real wage growth in the US
What are real wages?
Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation. Because they account for changes in the prices of goods and services, they show what a worker’s pay can actually buy, unlike nominal wages, which are the unadjusted amounts [2]. This chart uses real wages expressed in 2023 dollars.
Are real wages increasing in the US?
Over the period this chart covers, yes. All five income groups ended 2023 above their 1979 level, by between 17.0% and 46.2%, and low-wage workers saw the fastest growth between 2019 and 2023 [1]. The chart does not cover years after 2023.
Which income group has seen the biggest real wage growth in the US since 1979?
High-wage workers at the 90th percentile, whose real hourly wages grew by a cumulative 46.2% between 1979 and 2023, adjusted into 2023 dollars. The next highest group, the upper-middle (the average of the 60th to 80th percentiles), gained 23.4%. Voronoi notes that top earners in America have seen their real wages grow at more than double the rate of every other income group [1].
What is the average hourly wage by income group in the US?
In 2023, average hourly wages ranged from $13.5 for low-wage workers at the 10th percentile to $57.8 for high-wage workers at the 90th percentile, in 2023 dollars. In between, the lower-middle group averaged $18.0, the middle-wage group $23.8 and the upper-middle group $33.9. The figures cover hourly pay only, not hours worked, benefits or total household income.
Sources
- Voronoi by Visual Capitalist, The Growth in Real Wages, by Income Group, 2 August 2024. The creator’s original post, based on Economic Policy Institute data.
- Wikipedia, Real wages.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
