Salaries Increases by US State (2024)

FAQs

Which US state has the highest salary? ›

Massachusetts has the highest average wage, but its cost of living is 50% higher than the national average. California has the third highest average salary, but its cost of living is 40% higher than the national average.

Fast wage growth is a key feature of a strong labor market. U.S. workers, and low-wage workers in particular, experienced exceptional wage growth over the past couple of years, which not only improved workers' lives but also notably reduced wage inequality.

U.S. inflation rate versus wage growth 2020-2024

The rate of inflation exceeded the growth of wages for the first time in recent years in April 2021. In March 2024, inflation amounted to 3.5 percent, while wages grew by 4.7 percent.

U.S. employers reported that 2024 annual merit increase budgets rose by 3.3 percent, on average, while total salary increase budgets jumped by 3.6 percent—down from the November 2023 projections of 3.5 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, according to new data from Mercer.

Median annual income in the U.S. in 2023

Mississippi has the lowest-earning population in the U.S. with a median annual wage of just $37,500, according to the BLS.

"At this point, giving employees a raise to offset inflation may be too little, too late," noted Dalgliesh. "As inflation approaches the Federal Reserve's 2% target, a raise of 3% to 4% starts to look beneficial unless you recognize the compounding effects of inflation over the past two years.

How much you ask for depends on how long you've been with your employer and your role with the company. It's always a good idea to ask for anywhere between 10% to 20% higher than what you're making right now. You may be able to ask for more based on your performance, length of time with the company, and other factors.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. This is up 5.4% from the same time period in 2022 when the average American was making $56,316 per year. Average weekly earnings reached $1,142, while the average American made $4,949 per month in Q4 of 2023.

What is considered a good salary in 2024? ›

Every worker is different but most find that they should expect a raise every 1-2 years. However, comparing your salary against those of your coworkers and industry as a whole will highlight whether you are underpaid or not.

Overall, in the calendar year 2023, the United States' Nominal GDP at Current Prices totaled at $27.360 trillion, as compared to $25.744 trillion in 2022. The three U.S. states with the highest GDPs were California ($3.86 trillion), Texas ($2.56 trillion), and New York ($2.15 trillion).

Hawaii tops the list of states and what's needed to earn a living wage. It's the only state where a single person needs to make six figures to get by, pay for necessities and a few nice-to-have purchases, and stash money into savings, too.

Bloomberg reporters spent nearly a year combing through the payrolls of the 12 most-populous states, where they found that California workers made far more than their counterparts in terms of wages and overtime pay. "Our idea going into the project was to see what kinds of comparisons we could make…