Wondering how your salary compares to what everyone else is making in the country? A new study from USA Today Blueprint crunched the official numbers to come up with a breakdown of average salaries in the U.S. in 2024. They used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau to create a comprehensive list and divided data by age, race, gender, occupation, state and educational background to find out who earns what.
Key findings from the research include:
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average annual salary in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $59,384. That’s up 5.4% from the same time frame in 2022.
- Massachusetts is the highest-earning state with an average income of $86,840, over $27,000 above the national average.
- Rhode Island is above average, #21 at $63,492
- Thanks to the gender pay gap, the average male earns $63,960, slightly less than $10,000 more than the $53,404 that the average woman makes.
- The age group that earns the least on average is 16- to 24-year-olds, at $734 per week, or $38,168 a year. That’s 35.9% less than the national average.
- Salaries peak in the 35 to 44 age group, the highest average earners, who make an average of $1,303 a week, or $67,756 a year. That’s 13.8% or $8,000 above the national average.
- Average earnings start to fall after age 45 and those in the 45 to 54 age group earn an average of $66,300, while those aged 55 to 64 make $64,688, on average.
- On average, Mississippi is the lowest-earning state, with an average income of $48,048, more than $11,000 less than the U.S. average.
- The occupation that earns the most is cardiologists, at an average of $421,330, while the lowest earning occupation is shampooers at $27,870.
- The average family income is $74,755.
- Looking at education, full-time workers over age 25 without a high school diploma have an average salary of $47,580 a year. High school grads have an average income of $66,768, those with bachelor’s degrees earn an average of $125,320 and advanced degree holders earn $144,300.
photo: Getty Images Source: USA Today