CEOs Earn 614x More Than Workers at US's Lowest-Paying Firms

The average chief executive officer at the United States' 100 largest corporations with the lowest median worker pay earned 614 times more than their average employee in the past year, according to an analysis conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). This significant disparity in compensation highlights a widening gap between executive and frontline worker earnings within some of the nation's largest companies.

The IPS's "Executive Excess" report, released on August 27, 2026, meticulously examined compensation structures at the 100 companies listed on the S&P 500 that exhibit the lowest median pay for their workforce. The analysis covered the period from 2019 through 2025. During these six years, CEO compensation saw a substantial increase of 41.4%. This figure represents growth that is not adjusted for inflation, meaning the real purchasing power of executive pay rose significantly. In stark contrast, the median worker pay at these same firms increased by a considerably smaller margin of 20.7% over the identical timeframe. This means that CEO pay more than doubled the rate of increase for the average worker at these corporations, effectively widening the pay ratio by more than half.

Further details from the report indicate that the average CEO compensation at these 100 companies reached $19.1 million in 2025. This stands in sharp contrast to the average worker's annual earnings, which were reported to be $31,100 in the same year. The analysis specifically focused on S&P 500 companies to ensure a focus on large, publicly traded corporations that are significant players in the U.S. economy. The Institute for Policy Studies is a progressive research organization that focuses on issues of economic inequality, corporate power, and social justice. Their "Executive Excess" report is an annual publication that tracks trends in executive compensation and its relationship to worker pay.

The findings underscore a persistent trend of executive compensation outpacing worker wages, particularly within companies that are identified as having low median worker pay. This trend has been a subject of ongoing debate among economists, policymakers, and labor advocates, who argue that such disparities can contribute to economic inequality and social instability. The report's methodology involved analyzing publicly available financial disclosures of S&P 500 companies, focusing on reported salaries, bonuses, stock awards, and other forms of executive remuneration, alongside median worker compensation figures. The period of analysis, 2019-2025, captures recent economic conditions, including periods of inflation and economic recovery, providing a contemporary snapshot of executive pay practices.