n this page is a 2021 salary percentile by age calculator with estimates for the United States. Enter an age and pre-tax (gross) salary in full-year 2020, and we'll compare to wage income earned by other people that age.
Optionally you can plot the salary distribution curve for other ages using the pulldown menu.
(Find the math and methodology in the median, top 1%, and average salary by age research post. Find all income by age data alternatively.)
What was the average and median salary by age in 2021?
Here you'll find median and average salary by age, and the top 1% salaries by age for age 18-70. You can push it further in the tool – just beware the limitations for some ages, as linked in the methodology section below.
| Age | 10% | 25% | Median | 75% | 90% | Top 1% | Average |
| 16 | $4,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $11,000.00 | $25,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $19,645.90 |
| 17 | $4,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $9,000.00 | $15,000.00 | $27,000.00 | $70,000.00 | $13,627.68 |
| 18 | $4,000.00 | $7,000.00 | $11,000.00 | $21,567.00 | $30,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $16,221.05 |
| 19 | $5,000.00 | $10,200.00 | $18,000.00 | $27,000.00 | $38,000.00 | $109,000.00 | $21,919.67 |
| 20 | $6,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $20,000.00 | $28,000.00 | $41,600.00 | $115,000.00 | $25,257.92 |
| 21 | $8,000.00 | $13,000.00 | $20,800.00 | $31,000.00 | $42,000.00 | $75,000.00 | $24,323.35 |
| 22 | $9,400.00 | $15,000.00 | $25,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $27,955.35 |
| 23 | $12,000.00 | $20,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $45,000.00 | $59,000.00 | $124,122.00 | $36,224.33 |
| 24 | $12,500.00 | $21,000.00 | $31,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $65,000.00 | $151,000.00 | $38,514.55 |
| 25 | $16,600.00 | $25,000.00 | $39,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $80,000.00 | $160,000.00 | $45,663.90 |
| 26 | $18,000.00 | $26,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $84,000.00 | $175,000.00 | $47,435.00 |
| 27 | $18,000.00 | $29,000.00 | $42,300.00 | $65,000.00 | $91,000.00 | $200,000.00 | $52,512.73 |
| 28 | $20,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $44,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $180,000.00 | $51,092.78 |
| 29 | $20,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $46,000.00 | $65,002.00 | $100,000.00 | $200,000.00 | $55,135.63 |
| 30 | $22,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $48,800.00 | $70,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $220,000.00 | $58,232.71 |
| 31 | $20,000.00 | $31,864.00 | $50,000.00 | $75,000.00 | $110,000.00 | $250,000.00 | $61,431.08 |
| 32 | $20,000.00 | $33,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $75,000.00 | $115,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $64,396.62 |
| 33 | $23,400.00 | $35,000.00 | $52,000.00 | $79,000.00 | $115,000.00 | $265,000.00 | $65,264.37 |
| 34 | $22,500.00 | $35,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $75,000.00 | $120,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $66,049.18 |
| 35 | $21,500.00 | $35,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $81,000.00 | $125,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $68,831.49 |
| 36 | $22,000.00 | $35,950.00 | $55,915.00 | $85,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $71,695.15 |
| 37 | $22,880.00 | $35,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $135,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $73,848.79 |
| 38 | $21,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $128,000.00 | $316,000.00 | $69,027.31 |
| 39 | $24,179.00 | $35,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $88,000.00 | $130,000.00 | $362,000.00 | $73,869.79 |
| 40 | $24,000.00 | $37,000.00 | $57,200.00 | $92,000.00 | $136,000.00 | $338,000.00 | $76,310.92 |
| 41 | $22,002.00 | $36,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $430,000.00 | $83,170.81 |
| 42 | $23,708.00 | $35,000.00 | $57,000.00 | $89,927.00 | $140,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $74,726.99 |
| 43 | $23,000.00 | $37,000.00 | $59,000.00 | $95,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $800,000.00 | $86,546.54 |
| 44 | $23,000.00 | $38,000.00 | $56,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $76,955.60 |
| 45 | $23,191.00 | $36,000.00 | $59,000.00 | $92,000.00 | $137,000.00 | $500,000.00 | $78,679.09 |
| 46 | $23,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $58,400.00 | $97,000.00 | $145,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $77,430.67 |
| 47 | $24,000.00 | $38,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $91,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $77,239.56 |
| 48 | $22,000.00 | $36,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $86,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $73,807.51 |
| 49 | $24,960.00 | $36,000.00 | $56,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $320,000.00 | $76,419.41 |
| 50 | $23,000.00 | $37,440.00 | $60,000.00 | $96,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $450,000.00 | $80,130.15 |
| 51 | $24,000.00 | $36,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $145,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $76,214.14 |
| 52 | $24,960.00 | $38,000.00 | $59,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $149,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $81,771.02 |
| 53 | $23,751.00 | $35,000.00 | $58,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $340,000.00 | $79,129.61 |
| 54 | $25,000.00 | $37,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $95,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $80,391.93 |
| 55 | $22,881.00 | $36,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $91,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $380,000.00 | $75,324.28 |
| 56 | $22,000.00 | $36,000.00 | $58,000.00 | $98,000.00 | $145,000.00 | $390,000.00 | $76,633.09 |
| 57 | $25,000.00 | $37,000.00 | $58,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $130,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $72,982.70 |
| 58 | $21,000.00 | $32,600.00 | $54,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $135,000.00 | $328,378.00 | $71,171.80 |
| 59 | $22,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $57,000.00 | $90,000.00 | $142,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $76,477.35 |
| 60 | $20,000.00 | $34,000.00 | $53,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $290,000.00 | $70,762.53 |
| 61 | $22,000.00 | $33,000.00 | $53,500.00 | $84,000.00 | $130,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $75,203.24 |
| 62 | $24,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $55,000.00 | $94,000.00 | $135,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $75,045.15 |
| 63 | $22,000.00 | $35,000.00 | $58,002.00 | $93,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $78,967.87 |
| 64 | $18,210.00 | $31,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $80,000.00 | $125,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $67,236.10 |
| 65 | $20,000.00 | $31,000.00 | $54,000.00 | $85,000.00 | $132,000.00 | $245,000.00 | $68,826.28 |
| 66 | $18,000.00 | $32,000.00 | $53,000.00 | $89,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $71,962.38 |
| 67 | $18,645.00 | $32,700.00 | $60,000.00 | $80,000.00 | $120,000.00 | $330,000.00 | $70,340.45 |
| 68 | $17,000.00 | $26,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $88,639.00 | $150,000.00 | $560,000.00 | $75,782.63 |
| 69 | $15,000.00 | $28,000.00 | $52,000.00 | $90,358.00 | $145,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $71,658.47 |
| 70 | $10,000.00 | $23,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $66,002.00 | $108,000.00 | $400,000.00 | $59,323.07 |
This next graph shows selected salary percentiles for ages 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65.
Source and Methodology on the 2021 Salary Percentile by Age Calculator
Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren and Michael Westberry. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 9.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2021. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V9.0
Our "worker" methodology matches the 2021 salary bracket post.
To see the number of data points and estimated number of workers by age, see the salary by age post.
Want more? Also see our net worth calculator and net worth by age calculator.
