Private employer costs for pay and benefits were highest in the Pacific region in December 2019

Employer costs for employee compensation for private industry workers averaged $34.72 per hour worked in December 2019. Employer costs ranged from an average of $27.94 per hour worked in the East South Central census region to $42.04 in the Pacific region.

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Chart Data Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation, private industry workers by census division, December 2019 Area Total compensation Wages and salaries Total benefits Northeast $39.22 $26.92 $12.30 New England 40.42 27.86 12.56 Middle Atlantic 38.79 26.59 12.20 South 30.48 21.88 8.60 South Atlantic 31.10 22.33 8.77 East South Central 27.94 19.74 8.20 West South Central 30.58 22.10 8.49 Midwest 33.05 22.85 10.19 East North Central 33.76 23.23 10.52 West North Central 31.51 22.03 9.48 West 39.37 27.67 11.69 Mountain 33.16 23.40 9.76 Pacific $42.04 29.51 12.52

At the national level, wages and salaries for private industry workers averaged $24.36 per hour worked, while benefit costs averaged $10.37. At the regional level, wages and salaries ranged from $19.74 for the East South Central region to $29.51 for the Pacific region. Total benefit costs ranged from $8.20 for the East South Central region to $12.56 for New England.

The states (including the District of Columbia) that compose the census regions are:

New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee

West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas

East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin

West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota

Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming

Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington

These data are from the Employment Cost Trends program. To learn more, see "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — December 2019." We also have more charts on employer costs for employee compensation.