Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in California (SMU06000000500000003) from Jan 2007 to May 2025 about earnings, hours, CA, private, employment, and USA.

In 2023, the average annual wage in California was ****** U.S. dollars, an increase from the year prior, when the average wage in the U.S. state was ******. The average annual wages are expected to rise in California, with the annual wage in 2027 estimated to reach over ******* U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Construction in California (SMU06000002000000003) from Jan 2007 to May 2025 about earnings, hours, construction, CA, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of Production Employees: Information: Motion Picture and Video Industries in California (SMU06000005051210008) from Jan 2001 to May 2025 about video, audio-visual, information, hours, production, CA, employment, industry, and USA.

Average weekly earnings, average hourly wage rate and average usual weekly hours by union status and type of work, last 5 years.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Jobs by Wage Level (EQ1)

FULL MEASURE NAME Distribution of jobs by low-, middle-, and high-wage occupations

LAST UPDATED January 2019

DESCRIPTION Jobs by wage level refers to the distribution of jobs by low-, middle- and high-wage occupations. In the San Francisco Bay Area, low-wage occupations have a median hourly wage of less than 80% of the regional median wage; median wages for middle-wage occupations range from 80% to 120% of the regional median wage, and high-wage occupations have a median hourly wage above 120% of the regional median wage.

DATA SOURCE California Employment Development Department OES (2001-2017) http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/data/oes-employment-and-wages.html

American Community Survey (2001-2017) http://api.census.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Jobs are determined to be low-, middle-, or high-wage based on the median hourly wage of their occupational classification in the most recent year. Low-wage jobs are those that pay below 80% of the regional median wage. Middle-wage jobs are those that pay between 80% and 120% of the regional median wage. High-wage jobs are those that pay above 120% of the regional median wage. Regional median hourly wages are estimated from the American Community Survey and are published on the Vital Signs Income indicator page. For the national context analysis, occupation wage classifications are unique to each metro area. A low-wage job in New York, for instance, may be a middle-wage job in Miami. For the Bay Area in 2017, the median hourly wage for low-wage occupations was less than $20.86 per hour. For middle-wage jobs, the median ranged from $20.86 to $31.30 per hour; and for high-wage jobs, the median wage was above $31.30 per hour.

Occupational employment and wage information comes from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Regional and subregional data is published by the California Employment Development Department. Metro data is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OES program collects data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments to produce employment and wage estimates for some 800 occupations. Data from non-incorporated self-employed persons are not collected, and are not included in these estimates. Wage estimates represent a three-year rolling average.

Due to changes in reporting during the analysis period, subregion data from the EDD OES have been aggregated to produce geographies that can be compared over time. West Bay is San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. North Bay is Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties. East Bay is Alameda and Contra Costa counties. South Bay is Santa Clara County from 2001-2004 and Santa Clara and San Benito counties from 2005-2017.

Due to changes in occupation classifications during the analysis period, all occupations have been reassigned to 2010 SOC codes. For pre-2009 reporting years, all employment in occupations that were split into two or more 2010 SOC occupations are assigned to the first 2010 SOC occupation listed in the crosswalk table provided by the Census Bureau. This method assumes these occupations always fall in the same wage category, and sensitivity analysis of this reassignment method shows this is true in most cases.

In order to use OES data for time series analysis, several steps were taken to handle missing wage or employment data. For some occupations, such as airline pilots and flight attendants, no wage information was provided and these were removed from the analysis. Other occupations did not record a median hourly wage (mostly due to irregular work hours) but did record an annual average wage. Nearly all these occupations were in education (i.e. teachers). In this case, a 2080 hour-work year was assumed and [annual average wage/2080] was used as a proxy for median income. Most of these occupations were classified as high-wage, thus dispelling concern of underestimating a median wage for a teaching occupation that requires less than 2080 hours of work a year (equivalent to 12 months fulltime). Finally, the OES has missing employment data for occupations across the time series. To make the employment data comparable between years, gaps in employment data for occupations are ‘filled-in’ using linear interpolation if there are at least two years of employment data found in OES. Occupations with less than two years of employment data were dropped from the analysis. Over 80% of interpolated cells represent missing employment data for just one year in the time series. While this interpolating technique may impact year-over-year comparisons, the long-term trends represented in the analysis generally are accurate.

In 2024, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California, households needed an hourly wage of almost 78 U.S. dollars to afford the rent of a two-bedroom apartment. San Francisco had one of the least affordable two-bedroom apartments, as a household would have to earn at least 64.6 U.S. dollars hourly to afford rent . These figures are considerably higher than the average minimum wage, which is in place in many states. There was no state in which a minimum wage worker could afford rent for the average two-bedroom apartment, if they only worked 40 hours a week.

Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Information in California was 60.78000 $ per Hour in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Information in California reached a record high of 62.48000 in January of 2023 and a record low of 33.76000 in January of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Information in California - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Average hourly and weekly wage rate, and median hourly and weekly wage rate by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), type of work, gender, and age group.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Leisure and Hospitality in California (SMU06000007000000003) from Jan 2007 to May 2025 about leisure, hospitality, earnings, hours, CA, employment, and USA.

Number of employees, average hourly and weekly earnings (including overtime), and average weekly hours for the industrial aggregate excluding unclassified businesses, last 5 months.

This dataset represents the statewide average hourly wage of Department of Rehabilitation’s total successful closures in State Fiscal Years 2014 through 2023 by county.

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.

California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Bakersfield, CA (MSA) was 31.76000 $ per Hour in March of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Bakersfield, CA (MSA) reached a record high of 32.08000 in May of 2024 and a record low of 20.47000 in May of 2007. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Bakersfield, CA (MSA) - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on May of 2025.

Average full-time hourly wage paid and payroll employment by type of work, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and National Occupational Classification (NOC), 2016 and 2017.

Average Hourly Earnings of Production Employees: Manufacturing in California was 30.51000 $ per Hour in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Average Hourly Earnings of Production Employees: Manufacturing in California reached a record high of 30.51000 in January of 2024 and a record low of 14.69000 in January of 2001. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Average Hourly Earnings of Production Employees: Manufacturing in California - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (MSA) (DISCONTINUED) was 33.45380 $ per Hour in January of 2022, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (MSA) (DISCONTINUED) reached a record high of 33.45380 in January of 2022 and a record low of 21.43083 in April of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for California - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA (MSA) (DISCONTINUED) - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on May of 2025.

Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in California was 40.69000 $ per Hour in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in California reached a record high of 40.98000 in March of 2025 and a record low of 24.20000 in February of 2008. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in California - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Jobs by Wage Level (EQ1)

FULL MEASURE NAME Distribution of jobs by low-, middle-, and high-wage occupations

LAST UPDATED January 2019

DESCRIPTION Jobs by wage level refers to the distribution of jobs by low-, middle- and high-wage occupations. In the San Francisco Bay Area, low-wage occupations have a median hourly wage of less than 80% of the regional median wage; median wages for middle-wage occupations range from 80% to 120% of the regional median wage, and high-wage occupations have a median hourly wage above 120% of the regional median wage.

DATA SOURCE California Employment Development Department OES (2001-2017) http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/data/oes-employment-and-wages.html

American Community Survey (2001-2017) http://api.census.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Jobs are determined to be low-, middle-, or high-wage based on the median hourly wage of their occupational classification in the most recent year. Low-wage jobs are those that pay below 80% of the regional median wage. Middle-wage jobs are those that pay between 80% and 120% of the regional median wage. High-wage jobs are those that pay above 120% of the regional median wage. Regional median hourly wages are estimated from the American Community Survey and are published on the Vital Signs Income indicator page. For the national context analysis, occupation wage classifications are unique to each metro area. A low-wage job in New York, for instance, may be a middle-wage job in Miami. For the Bay Area in 2017, the median hourly wage for low-wage occupations was less than $20.86 per hour. For middle-wage jobs, the median ranged from $20.86 to $31.30 per hour; and for high-wage jobs, the median wage was above $31.30 per hour.

Occupational employment and wage information comes from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Regional and subregional data is published by the California Employment Development Department. Metro data is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OES program collects data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments to produce employment and wage estimates for some 800 occupations. Data from non-incorporated self-employed persons are not collected, and are not included in these estimates. Wage estimates represent a three-year rolling average.

Due to changes in reporting during the analysis period, subregion data from the EDD OES have been aggregated to produce geographies that can be compared over time. West Bay is San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. North Bay is Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties. East Bay is Alameda and Contra Costa counties. South Bay is Santa Clara County from 2001-2004 and Santa Clara and San Benito counties from 2005-2017.

Due to changes in occupation classifications during the analysis period, all occupations have been reassigned to 2010 SOC codes. For pre-2009 reporting years, all employment in occupations that were split into two or more 2010 SOC occupations are assigned to the first 2010 SOC occupation listed in the crosswalk table provided by the Census Bureau. This method assumes these occupations always fall in the same wage category, and sensitivity analysis of this reassignment method shows this is true in most cases.

In order to use OES data for time series analysis, several steps were taken to handle missing wage or employment data. For some occupations, such as airline pilots and flight attendants, no wage information was provided and these were removed from the analysis. Other occupations did not record a median hourly wage (mostly due to irregular work hours) but did record an annual average wage. Nearly all these occupations were in education (i.e. teachers). In this case, a 2080 hour-work year was assumed and [annual average wage/2080] was used as a proxy for median income. Most of these occupations were classified as high-wage, thus dispelling concern of underestimating a median wage for a teaching occupation that requires less than 2080 hours of work a year (equivalent to 12 months fulltime). Finally, the OES has missing employment data for occupations across the time series. To make the employment data comparable between years, gaps in employment data for occupations are ‘filled-in’ using linear interpolation if there are at least two years of employment data found in OES. Occupations with less than two years of employment data were dropped from the analysis. Over 80% of interpolated cells represent missing employment data for just one year in the time series. While this interpolating technique may impact year-over-year comparisons, the long-term trends represented in the analysis generally are accurate.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA (MSA) (SMU06417400500000003) from Jan 2007 to Apr 2025 about San Diego, earnings, hours, CA, private, employment, and USA.