The average salary and annual income in the United States are increasing year after year, but there are significant differences due to various factors such as region and age.
Recently, USA TODAY delved into official data and released the "2024 U.S. Salary Panorama Analysis". The report provides us with a comprehensive view of the U.S. income situation, broken down multiple dimensions such as age, race, gender, and occupation.
The average salary in the United States by occupation
According to 2022 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost all of the highest-paying occupations in the United States are in the healthcare industry.
Cardiologists are the highest-paid doctors, with an average salary of $421,330 per year, followed by orthopedic surgeons (excluding pediatrics) ($371,400), pediatricians ($362,970), and all other surgeons ($347,870).
And this year's "2024 Best Career Ranking" list released by US.News, the first place is also a nurse practitioner in the medical industry! One-third of this year's top 100 occupations are in healthcare, up from a quarter in 2023. Future population ageing and the prevalence of chronic diseases will drive strong job growth in health care and social assistance.
While athletes and athletic athletes are the only non-medical professionals in the top five, they rank fourth with an average annual income of $358,080.
With the exception of athletes, all professions in the top five require advanced degrees and years of training to reach qualifying status, which explains their position on the leaderboard.
After athletes and sports professionals, the highest-paid non-medical professionals are CEOs regardless of industry, with an average annual income of $246,440. This was followed by airline pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers ($225,740), computer and information systems managers ($173,670) and finance managers ($166,050). While not all occupations have annual and hourly wages, since some occupations do not work year-round, the lowest-paid occupation is a shampoo, with an average income of $27,870.
Average income by state in the United States
The state with the highest average income in the United States is Massachusetts, with an average annual income of $86,840, which is more than $27,000 higher than the national average.
This was followed by Washington ($85,748), followed by California ($84,448), New York ($84,292) and Connecticut ($78,572).
Missouri's annual income is closest to the U.S. average at $59,800, which is only $416 higher than the national average.
Mississippi, on the other hand, is the lowest-income state, with an average annual income of $48,048 in 2023, more than $11,000 less than the U.S. average.
The average annual income of an American
As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the average annual salary for Americans is $59,384. While wages continue to grow, their pace of growth has slowed from the 7.3% growth rate seen between 2021 and 2022.
The gender pay gap is narrowing, but it is still evident. The median income for men is $63,960, compared to $53,404 for women, a difference of nearly $10,000.
In addition, racial disparities also have a significant impact on income levels. The median income of white men is $64,636, which is more than $16,000 more than the average income of Hispanic or Latino men of $47,996.
An overview of the average salary in the United States by age group
In the United States, the relationship between age and income suggests that people peak their income between the ages of 35 and 44. Individuals in this age group earn an average weekly income of $1,303 and earn an average annual salary of $67,756, which is more than $8,000 more than the national average annual salary.
Although salary growth continued for this age group, it began to decline gradually after that. The average annual income for the 45 to 54 age group is $66,300, while the average annual income for the 55 to 64 year group is slightly lower at $64,688.
The young 16- to 24-year-olds earn an average of $734 per week and earn an average of $38,168 per year, a figure significantly lower than the national average, reflecting their relatively little work experience, earning about 35.9 per cent less than the national average.
The age group of 65 and older also earns less, with an average weekly income of $1,055 and an annual salary of $54,860 at this stage.
Average income of all ethnic groups in the United States
The U.S. has significant differences in average income between races, reflecting deep racial inequalities.
According to the Department of Labor, Hispanics and Latinos have the lowest average annual income at $45,968, followed by blacks and African Americans with an average annual income of $50,284.
Asians top the list with an annual income of $79,456, with Asian men earning an average of $90,012 and Asian women earning $70,512 per year, further highlighting the intersection of race and gender in terms of salary.
Whites came in second, earning an average of $60,164 per year. The average white income is almost the same as the national average, just $624 higher.
Gender disparities exist across all ethnicities, with the largest income gap between women and men in Asia, at 21.7 percent, although the average income of women is generally 16.2 percent lower than that of men.
The gender pay gap for other races is generally lower than the national average. Among them, the gender pay gap for white women is closest to the national average at 15.9 percent, followed by Hispanics and Latinos at 12.2 percent.
The gender pay gap between blacks and African Americans is the smallest, at just 6.1 percent, showing a glimmer of hope for pay equity.