Chief executives at the biggest U.S. companies saw their pay packages swell by nearly 6% last year, driven by a robust stock market and corporate profits that beat expectations. The typical CEO at an S&P 500 firm made $17.7 million in 2025, up from $16.7 million a year earlier, according to the annual Associated Press survey of CEO compensation conducted with data firm Equilar. At the same time, the median worker at those companies earned $89,744, representing a 4.7% raise.
The AP survey, released Wednesday, examined pay data for 337 executives at S&P 500 companies who had served at least two full fiscal years and whose firms filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30. The analysis captures total compensation, including salary, bonuses, stock awards, and other incentives.
That widening gap translates into a ratio of roughly 200‑to‑1. Put another way, an employee who started working in 1826 — nearly two centuries ago — would have earned by now what the median CEO collected in a single year. The ratio has become a standard yardstick for measuring the distance between executive pay and ordinary workers’ earnings.
Company boards attributed the compensation increases to strong financial performance and a rising stock market. Many firms leaned heavily on restricted stock and multiyear performance awards, which vest over time, as a tool to retain top talent and align executives’ interests with those of shareholders. The AP reported that boards cited the need to “stick around and make even more money for shareholders” as a central reason for the grants.
For rank-and-file employees, the raise was more modest. Median worker pay grew 4.7%, a rate that edged ahead of the annual inflation measure for 2025. But many households are still coping with the cumulative impact of years of rising prices, particularly for housing, groceries, and transportation. The AP noted that workers have been “cutting corners to make ends meet” and have run up credit card debt to cover everyday expenses.
The compensation landscape among the S&P 500 was not uniform. While the median figure landed at $17.7 million, some chief executives received awards worth tens of millions of dollars through stock grants and option packages. The AP’s analysis highlighted a number of outsized awards that far exceeded the median, underscoring the growing reliance on equity-based pay in corporate America. In recent years, the mix of compensation has shifted decisively toward equity, a trend that amplifies the effects of a rising stock market on top executives’ total pay.
Worker advocates have long argued that such pay structures concentrate wealth at the top and leave employees behind, even as companies post record profits. The ratio between CEO and median employee pay has hovered around 200‑to‑1 for several years, down from peaks above 300‑to‑1 but still far above the 20‑to‑1 or 30‑to‑1 ratios common in the mid‑20th century. This year’s survey shows that the gap, while not widening dramatically, is not closing.
The data also arrive as inflation continues to weigh on consumer sentiment. Although the headline inflation rate cooled last year, the accumulated price increases since the pandemic have kept financial pressure on many households. A separate economic reading has shown that credit card debt and delinquency rates have ticked higher, especially among lower-income families.
The Equilar analysis, prepared annually for the AP, has long served as one of the most widely cited benchmarks of executive pay in the United States. Because it covers only executives who have been in their roles for at least two years, the survey reflects steady-state compensation rather than one-time hiring grants, making its year‑over‑year comparisons more consistent.
The findings are likely to renew debates about fair compensation, the effectiveness of performance-based pay, and the broader economic consequences of concentrating corporate rewards among a small group of executives. For now, the numbers paint a picture in which top corporate leaders are seeing their fortunes rise sharply alongside the stock market, while the workers who power those companies are making only incremental gains.