Private industry employer costs for employee compensation showed significant variation across U.S. regions in June 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The average hourly cost ranged from $39.94 in the South to $56.67 in the Northeast. In the Midwest, employers paid an average of $42.13 per hour, while in the West, the figure was $49.85.
The BLS also reported on nine smaller geographic divisions within these regions. For example, total compensation costs were lowest in the East South Central division at $33.45 per hour and highest in the Middle Atlantic division at $56.72 per hour.
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are derived from the National Compensation Survey and include wages, salaries, and benefits such as paid leave and insurance.
In June 2025, employers in the Northeast allocated 69.2 percent of compensation costs to wages and salaries ($39.22), with benefits making up 30.8 percent ($17.44). Paid leave averaged $4.70 per hour worked (8.3 percent), insurance averaged $4.47 (7.9 percent), and legally required benefits like Social Security and Medicare averaged $4.04 (7.1 percent).
In the West region, wages and salaries accounted for 70 percent of compensation costs ($34.88 per hour), while benefits made up 30 percent ($14.97). Paid leave was $3.82 per hour (7.7 percent), legally required benefits were $3.80 (7.6 percent), and insurance costs stood at $3.52 (7.1 percent).
For Midwest employers, hourly wages and salaries averaged $29.24 or 69.4 percent of all compensation costs; total benefits were $12.89 or 30.6 percent of costs overall—insurance benefits were highest among benefit categories at $3.46 per hour worked (8.2 percent), followed by legally required benefits at $3.05 (7.3 percent) and paid leave at $3.01 (7.l percent).
Employers in the South spent an average of $28.l66 on wages and salaries per hour worked—71 .8 percent of total compensation—with another Sll .28 going toward benefits (28 .2percent). Both paid leave and insurance each averaged S2 .88perhourworked(7 .2percent each); legally required benefit costs were S2 .82perhour(7 .lpercent).
Nationally, private industry employer compensation costs averaged S45 .65perhourworkedinJune2025.WagesandsalarieswereS32 .07perhour(70 .2percentofcosts)andbenefitswereS13 .58(29 .8percent).
According to BLS methodology, ECEC data exclude self-employed individuals, agricultural workers, and private household workers; information is collected from a probability sample representing about 26,400 occupational observations across approximately 6,200 establishments over a three-year rotation cycle.
Additional details on metropolitan area estimates can be found through BLS publications: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/bls-introduces-new-employer-costs-for-employee-compensation-data-for-private-industry-workers-in-15-metropolitan-areas.pdf
Further methodological information is available via “National Compensation Measures” in the BLS Handbook of Methods: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ncs/home.htm
Current and historical ECEC data are accessible online: https://www.bls.gov/ecec
The next national release for Employer Costs for Employee Compensation is scheduled for December 12, 2025.
