Salaries in the Buffalo area continue to rise

Only once in the first 20 years of this century did the average annual wage in the Buffalo Niagara region increase by more than 4 percent.

Since 2020, average salaries have increased by at least 4% each year.

Accelerated wage growth began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when workers, particularly those at the lower end of the pay scale, demanded higher pay to continue reporting to work in person during the confinement.

This trend has continued since, as inflation has taken hold and workers are now seeking better wages to keep up with rapidly rising prices. And for the most part, they succeeded.

Over the past four years, wage growth has outpaced price growth, driven largely by the sharp increase in wages in 2020. This has offset average annual wage increases that have lagged behind the rise in consumer prices. consumption over the past three years, according to data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the end of 2019, the average annual salary in the region was $50,917. By the end of last year, that amount had risen to $63,143, an increase of 24%.

At the same time, consumer prices have increased by around 22%, meaning that the average annual salary has increased by around 3.9% after adjusting for inflation since 2019.