Presidential Pay 1789 to 2012, in Current and Constant (2012) dollars

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1 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary $2,000,000 Presidential Pay 1789 to 2012, in Current and Constant (2012) dollars $1,750,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $400,000 $500,000 $250,000 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $200,000 $ Current Dollar Yearly Pay Constant (2012) Dollars Source of current-dollar presidential pay: Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Presidency, at Data prior to 1913 should be considered approximations. Starting in 1949 presidents also have had a $50,000 per year expense account, worth about $460,000 that year in 2010 dollars. Calculations of inflation-adjusted dollars for use data from Historical Statistics of the United States Millenial Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2006). Note: The two charts for average presidential pay, chronological and ranked, are located at the end because they print more clearly in portrait format. Robert Sahr, Political Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis; Robert.Sahr@oregonstate.edu; online: pres-cong_pay_summary

2 Yearly presidential pay in constant (2012) dollars Ratio of CEO compensation to presidential pay Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 2 Pay of US President in Inflation-adjusted (2012) Dollars and Ratio of Average Yearly Compensation of Top 500 CEO to Pay of President, Selected Years 1960 to 2004 $1,400,000 $1,200,000 Current-dollar yearly pay of Presidents: 1960: $100,000; : $200,000; 2001 and later: $400, $1,111,000 $1,000,000 Left Scale 50 $800, $714,000 $600,000 $559, $400, $486, $200,000 $0 $327,000 $293,000 Right $267,000 Scale Ratio CEO:President Presidential pay in dollars of 2012 Source of current dollar top 500 CEO compensation : Business Week, selected issues; the actual number of corporate CEOs used by Business Week to calculate averages varie; for example, in 1999 the number was 362

3 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 3 Ratio of Presidential Pay to Median Family Income, 1948 to Read this graph as follows: In 2011, the pay of the President was 6.56 times the median US family income Presidential Pay: 1948: $75, : $100, : $200, and later: $400, Source: Census Bureau web site, family income

4 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 4 Yearly Pay of Members of Congress 1789 to 2012, in Current and Constant (2012) Dollars $300,000 $250,000 Until 1816 and again 1817 to 1856, members received per diem pay, originally $6 per day (for 1789 this is about $160 in dollars of 2012), sometimes plus a relatively generous travel allowance. These are converted here to yearly rates in the original source. During 1990 and 1991 House and Senate salaries differed slightly; average is shown for those years. $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 January 1, 2008: increase to $169,300 from $165,200; 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 $174,000 $ Congress Pay in Dollars of 2012 Congress Pay Source of congressional current-dollar pay: Congressional Research Service, Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, January 15, 2013

5 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 5 6 Ratio of Congress Pay to Median Family Income, 1948 to Read this as follows: In 2012, the pay of members of Congress was 2.85 times the median US family income. Note: the pay of members of Congress has not been increased since Sources: Congressional Reference Service and Census Bureau web site, family income

6 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 6 Ratio of Top 500 CEO Compensation to Congress Pay and to Family Median Income and Ratio of Congress Pay to Family Median Income, Selected Years 1960 to 2004 (comparable CEO data not available for later years) Read this as follows: In 2004, the pay of CEOs was about 178 times the median US family income and 61 times the pay of members of Congress; the pay of members of Congress was about 2.9 times the median US family income (note: data are not available for all these elements after 2004) Ratio CEO:Congress Ratio CEO:Family Ratio: Congress:Family Source of CEO Compensation Data: Business Week, selected years

7 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary Average Pay of US Presidents in Inflation-adjusted Dollars, In Current and Constant (2012) Dollars George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren Wm. Henry Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James Garfield Chester Arthur Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft Woodrow Wilson Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard M. Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush William J. Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama Lowest Notes: This shows average for each president's entire time in office, for example, both nonconsecutive terms for Grover Cleveland, in calculating his average inflation-adjusted pay. When a president died or left office before the end of his term, the calculation assumes that both the president and succeeding vicepresident had that pay for that entire year (so that year "doublecounts"), even if the departure occurred very early or very late in the year. The pay of Presidents Grant and Truman increased between their first and second terms; the second-term current pay is shown. Highest $- $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $1,250,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 Current Dollars Constant (2012) Dollars Robert Sahr, Political Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis; Robert.Sahr@oregonstate.edu; online: pres-cong_pay_summary

8 Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 8 Presidents Ranked by Inflation-adjusted Pay (2012 $), from Highest to Lowest (rounded to nearest $10,000) William H. Taft $1,790,000 Woodrow Wilson William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison Franklin D. Roosevelt Chester Arthur James Garfield Rutherford B. Hayes Herbert Hoover Richard M. Nixon Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Harry S Truman Gerald Ford Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore Ulysses S. Grant James K. Polk John Tyler Lyndon B. Johnson Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Jimmy Carter Wm. Henry Harrison Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren John Quincy Adams George Washington James Monroe Thomas Jefferson Abraham Lincoln George W. Bush John Adams Ronald Reagan Barack Obama James Madison Andrew Johnson George H. W. Bush William J. Clinton $1,390,000 $1,370,000 $1,300,000 $1,270,000 $1,250,000 $1,160,000 $1,140,000 $1,140,000 $1,120,000 $1,110,000 $1,110,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $870,000 $860,000 $820,000 $760,000 $740,000 $740,000 $730,000 $730,000 $720,000 $710,000 $690,000 $690,000 $660,000 $660,000 $650,000 $620,000 $590,000 $560,000 $500,000 $490,000 $480,000 $480,000 $460,000 $440,000 $410,000 $410,000 $380,000 $350,000 $290,000 $0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000