Real and nominal weekly wages, Mississippi vs. U.S.

Real, inflation-adjusted wages have declined by about $30 a week for private sector employees in Mississippi since 2009, while they have increased about $65 nationally. Weekly wages in the state have lagged behind the national average by about $150 historically, but the gap grew to about $230 in the last couple of years.

*The 2019 annual average weekly wage for the U.S. is preliminary and subject to change. BLS had not released the weekly wage for December 2019 by the time this graph was created so the annual average was calculated using the first 11 months and is subject to change. Mississippi Today calculated the "real" wages using the Consumer Price Index.