After two uncharacteristic years of decline in 2022 and 2023, the pay for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the 350 largest firms in the U.S. increased in 2024.

As of the latest data available, realized compensation - which captures what CEOs took home in pay after any stock-based compensation was sold - averaged nearly $23 million in 2024 at the 350 largest publicly traded firms, an increase of 5.9% since 2023.

The Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) new CEO pay data page details the latest information on CEO pay, the sources of CEO pay and how CEO pay compares with what typical Workers are paid, the stock market, and the pay of other highly paid workers.

The new web page also provides historical data on each measure as far back as 1965.

The data show that CEOs are paid much more today than they were in the mid-1990s - and many times what they earned in the 1960s or 1970s.

In fact, realized compensation for CEOs is now 1,094% higher than it was in 1978.

Over the same period, the pay for typical Workers only increased 26%.

As a result, the CEO-to-Worker Compensation Ratio grew tremendously - nearly tenfold, from 31-to-1 in 1978 to 281-to-1 in 2024.

To Read This EPI Report In Its Entirety, Go To: CEO pay increased in 2024 and is now 281 times that of the typical worker: New EPI landing page has all the details | Economic Policy Institute