Are wages keeping up with inflation?

Updated May. 22, 2026Refreshed monthly
No. From April 2025 to April 2026, wages grew 0.24 percentage points slower than inflation. Nominal wages — the literal dollars earned regardless of cost of living — increased by 3.6% while inflation stood at 3.8%. When wage growth trails inflation, it indicates that workers are experiencing a decrease in purchasing power from the previous year.
Apr 2025 to Apr 2026

3.6%

Nominal average weekly wage growth
Apr 2025 to Apr 2026

3.8%

Inflation rate
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published average weekly wage data for more than 20 years, since March 2006. Looking back, average wages outpaced inflation 72.5% of the time. Most recently, wage growth was slower than inflation in every month since April 2026.

Between Apr 2025 to Apr 2026, average weekly wages grew slower than inflation.

Difference in year-over-year change of average weekly earnings and CPI, Mar 2007 - April 2026

A number of factors influence the nominal wage growth and inflation rates, including labor costs and the labor market itself. In May 2020, wages increased 7.6% over the previous year while inflation was at 0.2%, a record-high gap of 7.4 percentage points. This spike was attributed to pandemic labor market disruptions that disproportionately affected lower-wage jobs.
The biggest negative gap (4.3 percentage points) was in June 2022, when nominal wages grew by 4.8% year over year while inflation hit 9.1%.

In April 2026, average weekly wages grew 3.6% YoY compared with an inflation rate of 3.8%.

Year-over-year change of average weekly earnings and CPI, Mar 2007 - April 2026

How have wages grown over time after accounting for inflation?

We can measure the effect of inflation on wage growth by comparing the nominal average weekly wage to its inflation-adjusted (or “real” wage) equivalent. Since March 2006, the nominal average wage rose from $685 to $1,283, an 87.2% increase. Once adjusted to April 2026 dollars, it went from $1,142 to $1,283, a 12.3% increase. The nominal wage growth was $598, but the real wage growth was $141.
WAGES
In April 2026, the average weekly wage was $1.28K.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Between April 2025 and April 2026, the nominal average wage grew from $1,235 to $1,283 — $48 more a week, a growth rate of 3.6%. Accounting for inflation, the real wage growth was 0.22% or an additional $3 a week.

Since March 2006, the nominal average wage grew by $598 per week. Adjusted for inflation, that's $141.

Average weekly wage, nominal and inflation-adjusted

Which states have the highest wage growth?

Real wage growth varies geographically. Over 12 months ending with April 2026, wage growth outpaced inflation in 35 states and Washington, DC, and the highest real wage growth was in Virginia, at 5.1%. In 15 states, real wage growth was negative, meaning wages didn’t keep up with inflation; South Dakota saw the steepest drop, with 2.1%.

Real wages increased in 35 states and Washington, DC.

Average weekly wage growth (Monthly average from Apr 2025 - Apr 2026)

Average weekly wage growth (monthly average from Apr 2025 - Apr 2026), by state

Average weekly wage growth (monthly average from Apr 2025 - Apr 2026), by state
1.

Virginia 

5.1%
2.

Georgia 

4.8%
3.

Idaho 

4.2%
4.

District of Columbia

3.8%
5.

Alabama 

3%
6.

Florida 

3%
7.

Nevada 

3%
8.

Alaska 

2.7%
9.

New Mexico

2.6%
10.

South Carolina

2.5%

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.