CEO-to-Worker Pay Gap at Low-Wage S&P 500 Firms Hits 614-to-1 in 2025

NewsData.io · United States · Aug 27, 2026

A new Institute for Policy Studies report finds CEOs at the 100 largest low-wage S&P 500 companies averaged $17.5 million in total compensation in 2025—614 times their median worker's pay—up from 574-to-1 in 2019. Median worker pay at these firms failed to keep pace with inflation over the six-year period, with 18 companies seeing nominal pay declines. The report links ballooning executive compensation to $718 billion in stock buybacks by these firms between 2019 and 2025, and calls for policy responses including higher taxes on companies with wide pay ratios. For staffing professionals, the data underscores persistent wage pressure at major low-wage employers that are significant users of contingent and temp labor.