DALLAS, Tex. – Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $35.65 per hour in the South to $43.84 in the Northeast in September 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
In the other two regions, hourly employer costs for employee compensation stood at $38.34 in the Midwest and $43.16 in the West. (See chart 1.) In addition to regional estimates, employer costs for nine smaller geographic divisions are also available. Within divisions, total compensation costs ranged from $32.39 per hour in the East South Central division to $46.27 in the Pacific region. (See table 1.) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits.
In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs in September 2022 were comprised of the following: wages and salaries ($30.28) made up 69.1 percent, while total benefits ($13.55) accounted for the remaining 30.9 percent of compensation costs. Insurance costs, which include life, health, and short- and long-term disability, averaged $3.49 per hour worked, or 8.0 percent of all compensation costs.
Costs for paid leave, which includes vacation, holiday, sick, and personal leave, averaged $3.42 per hour worked, accounting for 7.8 percent of total compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance (both state and federal), and workers’ compensation averaged $3.34 per hour and represented 7.6 percent of total compensation costs.
In the West, hourly wages and salaries averaged $30.53 and accounted for 70.8 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $12.62, or 29.2 percent of compensation costs. Legally required benefits averaged $3.37 per hour, or 7.8 percent of compensation costs. Paid leave costs were $3.26 per hour, or 7.5 percent of regional compensation costs. Insurance costs averaged $3.22 per hour, also accounting for 7.5 percent of total compensation costs in the West.
The Midwest region recorded an hourly wage and salary average of $26.45 in September 2022, representing 69.0 percent of all compensation costs. Total benefits averaged $11.89 and accounted for the remaining 31.0 percent of total compensation costs. The three highest major categories for employer benefits were insurance benefits ($3.28 per hour worked), legally required benefits ($2.82), and paid leave ($2.75). These categories represented 8.6 percent, 7.3 percent, and 7.2 percent, respectively, of total employer compensation costs in the Midwest.
In the South, wages and salaries averaged $25.82 per hour and comprised 72.4 percent of total employer compensation costs, while benefits, at $9.82 per hour, accounted for the remaining 27.6 percent. Legally required benefits averaged $2.61 per hour worked, followed by paid leave at $2.58 per hour; these categories both accounted for 7.3 percent, respectively, of total compensation costs in the South. Insurance benefits costs were the third-highest benefit cost and averaged $2.37 per hour, accounting for 6.7 percent of employer compensation for the region.
Overall, compensation costs among private industry employers in the United States averaged $39.61 per hour worked in September 2022. Wages and salaries, at $27.93 per hour, accounted for 70.5 percent of these costs, while benefits, at $11.68, made up the remaining 29.5 percent.
Regional definitions
Northeast region
- New England division: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
- Middle Atlantic division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
Midwest region
- East North Central division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
- West North Central division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
South region
- South Atlantic division: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
- East South Central division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
- West South Central division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
West region
- Mountain division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
- Pacific division: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington