Wages have grown, but inflation made a huge dent

% change in wages, January 2020 to January 2025

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SOURCES: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Wage Growth Tracker; Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. NOTES: Wage growth of individuals shown for the US, calculated as the median percent change in hourly wage from January 2020 to January 2025 (12-month averages). Individuals are categorized within quartiles of the wage distribution. Inflation adjustments use 12-month average of annualized CPI-U (seasonally adjusted). FROM: PPIC Blog, March 2025. Get the data Embed Download image