CEO pay statistics at a glance
CEO pay is one of the clearest windows into how compensation scales at the top of large companies, and the latest figures make the gap impossible to miss.
In 2024, S&P 500 CEO pay averaged $18,902,953, up 7% from the prior year (AFL-CIO Paywatch), while the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for S&P 500 companies was 285-to-1 in 2024 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
Table of contents
- The headline numbers
- What changed from 2023 to 2024
- How the pay package is built
- Industry differences
- Company-level extremes
- How to read CEO pay ratios
- What the wage comparison shows
The headline numbers
The core story is simple: CEO pay remains exceptionally high, and the size of the packages is still rising.
- Average S&P 500 CEO pay in 2024: $18,902,953 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Average CEO pay increase from 2023 to 2024: 7% (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for S&P 500 companies: 285-to-1 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Average CEO pay in 2023: $17.7 million (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024)
- Typical CEO pay at S&P 500 companies increased by more than $4 million over the past 10 years (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024)
Average CEO pay in 2024 was nearly $19 million, while the typical S&P 500 worker gap was 285-to-1 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
A useful way to think about these figures is that they describe both scale and direction. The scale is already massive. The direction is upward.
The 7% increase from 2023 to 2024 matters because it adds to an already elevated baseline. When the prior-year level is $17.7 million and the new average is $18,902,953, the next year starts from a much higher perch. The result is that even a modest percentage change translates into a very large dollar gain (AFL-CIO Paywatch; AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024).
What changed from 2023 to 2024
The year-over-year change is best understood in two parts: the average pay level and the broader worker comparison.
Pay moved up again
The average S&P 500 CEO made $18,902,953 in 2024, compared with $17.7 million in 2023 (AFL-CIO Paywatch; AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024). That means CEO pay rose by 7% in one year (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
That is not a small adjustment when the base is this large. A 7% increase on nearly $19 million is a seven-figure gain.
The long-term trend is even more important
The 10-year change is more revealing than the single-year shift. Typical CEO pay at S&P 500 companies increased by more than $4 million over the past 10 years (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024). On the worker side, the average U.S. worker wage increased by $18,240 over the past decade (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024).
That contrast helps explain why the ratio remains so high. The top line at the executive level moved by millions. The worker wage moved by tens of thousands.
A compact comparison
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average S&P 500 CEO pay | $17.7 million | $18,902,953 | AFL-CIO Paywatch; AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024 |
| Average CEO pay increase | - | 7% | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Average CEO-to-worker ratio | - | 285-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Average U.S. worker wage | $65,470 | $65,470 | AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024 |
| 10-year increase in worker wage | - | $18,240 | AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024 |
| 10-year increase in typical CEO pay | - | more than $4 million | AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024 |
The table shows the basic pattern without needing any guesswork: CEO compensation is already at a very high level, and the worker benchmark is much lower even before the ratio is calculated.
How the pay package is built
The 2024 average CEO figure is not just a salary number. It is made up of several components, and the largest pieces are tied to variable pay and stock-based compensation.
The main compensation components
- Salary component: $1,265,452 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Bonus component: $3,918,737 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Nonequity incentive compensation: $3,183,079 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Restricted stock compensation: $8,968,909 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Stock options compensation: $1,087,760 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Retirement plan compensation: $1,198,469 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- All-other compensation: $807,623 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
If you want the shortest explanation of executive pay structure, it is this: the salary is only a small slice. The largest reported piece in 2024 was restricted stock compensation at $8,968,909 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
What this tells you
The pay mix suggests that CEO compensation is designed to move with equity incentives and performance-linked awards rather than a fixed paycheck alone. In the 2024 averages, salary was far below the combined stock and incentive pieces (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
That matters for interpretation. When people hear a CEO ?salary,? they often picture a base wage. The 2024 data show something different: the total package is driven by a layered combination of salary, bonus, incentive pay, stock, and other items (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
The scale of the variable pieces
The bonus and nonequity incentive categories alone totaled $7,101,816 on average in 2024, before even adding restricted stock, options, retirement, or other compensation (AFL-CIO Paywatch). That means much of the total package sits outside the salary figure.
Industry differences
Not every sector sits at the same level. The industry data show that CEO pay and CEO-to-worker ratios vary widely depending on the business model, labor mix, and compensation structure.
Highest average CEO compensation by sector
- Arts, entertainment and recreation: $35,159,894 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Educational services: $25,545,004 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Information: $24,188,328 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Manufacturing: $20,530,438 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Accommodation and food services: $19,756,727 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Finance and insurance: $19,008,641 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Health care and social assistance: $18,872,136 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
Sector pay ratios and worker pay
| Sector | Avg. CEO pay | Avg. worker pay | Pay ratio | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | $35,159,894 | not stated | 1,924-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Accommodation and food services | $19,756,727 | $78,119 | 380-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services | $15,532,893 | $106,197 | 176-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Construction | $17,362,555 | $107,044 | 158-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Educational services | $25,545,004 | $68,015 | 618-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Finance and insurance | $19,008,641 | $110,338 | 202-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Health care and social assistance | $18,872,136 | $60,831 | 310-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Information | $24,188,328 | $109,767 | 232-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Manufacturing | $20,530,438 | $89,848 | 302-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Mining | $15,100,396 | $140,464 | 131-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $15,989,494 | $136,206 | 205-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Retail trade | $12,740,584 | $36,665 | 516-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Transportation and warehousing | $16,331,574 | $80,280 | 315-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Utilities | $13,201,917 | $138,526 | 97-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
| Wholesale trade | $11,660,268 | $54,586 | 239-to-1 | AFL-CIO Paywatch |
The industry table makes one point especially clear: higher CEO pay does not always line up with the largest ratio. Utilities, for example, shows a relatively lower ratio of 97-to-1 even though average CEO pay is still $13,201,917 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
Conversely, a sector can show a very large ratio because worker pay is comparatively lower. Retail trade shows average CEO pay of $12,740,584 and average worker pay of $36,665, creating a 516-to-1 ratio (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
Why the ratios differ
Ratios depend on both sides of the equation. A sector with a high CEO figure and an even higher worker wage can produce a moderate ratio. A sector with a lower CEO figure and a lower worker wage can still produce a large ratio.
That is why the data should be read in pairs, not in isolation.
Company-level extremes
The company list shows how a single executive can sit far above even a high average.
Selected high CEO pay figures
- Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora: $58,036,875 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59)
- Paramount Global CEO Chris McCarthy: $19,483,239 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59)
- PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada: $19,822,501 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59)
- Parker-Hannifin CEO Jennifer Parmentier: $18,740,721 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 58)
- Paylocity CEO Toby Williams: $14,737,065 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 58)
- Paycom CEO Chris Thomas: $12,088,037 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 58)
- PACCAR CEO Preston Feight: $12,184,223 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 60)
The biggest standout in the supplied data is Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora at $58,036,875 in 2024 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59). That figure is far above the already-high $18,902,953 average S&P 500 CEO pay level.
More names, more spread
The list also includes lower figures such as Patriot National Bancorp CEO David Lowery at $415,705 and Park Aerospace CEO Brian Shore at $303,255 (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59). Those numbers show that not every CEO package lands anywhere near the average.
That spread is important. Averages summarize the market, but they can hide a lot of variation across company size, sector, pay structure, and performance awards.
How to read CEO pay ratios
The ratio numbers can be easy to quote and easy to misunderstand.
Start with the denominator
When a company says the ratio is 285-to-1, that means the CEO?s compensation is 285 times the compensation of the average worker in the comparison set (AFL-CIO Paywatch). It does not mean every employee earns the same amount or that the CEO?s pay is 285 times the pay of one randomly selected worker.
Read the ratio with the worker wage
The average U.S. worker wage was $65,470 in 2023 and increased by $18,240 over the past decade (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024). That figure is useful because it gives scale to the comparison.
If the worker side is relatively low, the ratio can jump even when CEO pay is not the highest in absolute terms. That is one reason utilities can show a 97-to-1 ratio while retail trade reaches 516-to-1 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
The ratio is not the full story
A ratio is a compact summary, not the whole picture. It hides distribution, job mix, location, and the internal structure of a company?s compensation system. Still, it is useful because it condenses the pay gap into one number that is easy to compare across industries and companies.
What the wage comparison shows
The worker wage figures in the supplied statistics help anchor the CEO numbers in something concrete.
The worker side of the story
- Average U.S. worker wage: $65,470 in 2023 (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024)
- Average U.S. worker wage increase over the past decade: $18,240 (AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024)
- Starbucks median employee would have had to start working in 4643 BC to earn what the CEO made in 2024 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
That last statistic is dramatic, but it is still a ratio-based comparison built from the supplied data. It shows how extreme one pay package can look when set against worker earnings.
Company examples bring the gap into focus
- Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol received $97,813,843 in annualized total compensation in 2024 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
- Starbucks CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 6,666-to-1 in 2024 (AFL-CIO Paywatch)
This is the most vivid single-company comparison in the dataset. The figure is not just large; it is extreme enough to make the worker comparison feel almost abstract.
Why these comparisons matter
These statistics are often cited because they turn compensation debates into measurable facts. The CEO figure is not simply ?high.? It is high relative to worker earnings, sector norms, and multi-year trends (AFL-CIO Paywatch; AFL-CIO Paywatch 2024).
That combination is what makes CEO pay statistics so widely discussed. They capture both absolute compensation and the relative gap.
Source-backed takeaways
- CEO pay remained very high in 2024, with the S&P 500 average at $18,902,953 (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
- That average was up 7% from the prior year, which means the gap kept widening in dollar terms (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
- The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for S&P 500 companies was 285-to-1, showing how far executive compensation sits above worker pay (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
- Restricted stock was the largest average compensation component in 2024 at $8,968,909, which helps explain why total pay runs so high (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
- Sector data show wide variation, from 97-to-1 in utilities to 1,924-to-1 in arts, entertainment and recreation (AFL-CIO Paywatch).
- Company-level extremes can sit far above the average, with Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora at $58,036,875 and Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol at $97,813,843 in annualized total compensation (AFL-CIO Highest-Paid CEOs page 59; AFL-CIO Paywatch).