Historic knowledge has proven that the CEO is final in line to obtain a wage improve. And never solely that, however in terms of main crises, the CEO place is the almost definitely to see an precise discount of their base wage in comparison with different titles, as we noticed throughout Covid.
New knowledge from the just-released 2025–26 CEO & Senior Govt Compensation Report for Non-public U.S. Firms, reveals that the CEO continues to be the least doubtless to see a wage improve in 2026. Nonetheless, 2026 knowledge reveals an attention-grabbing nuance: CEOs are the almost definitely to obtain base wage will increase of 5 % or extra in 2026, reversing a multi-year sample the place bigger raises have been concentrated in much less senior positions.
The share of CEOs anticipating any wage improve in 2026 climbed to 68 %, up from 61 % final yr. That represents the very best determine in 5 years, solely matched by 2024’s sharp rebound of 67.5 % after a majority of CEOs noticed no change to their base wage in 2022 and 2023. Nonetheless, that determine stays effectively under the proportion of different worker varieties and titles who count on a elevate in 2026. Compared, 82 % of different senior executives, 90 % of mid-level managers, and 91 % of frontline and back-office staff are anticipating a rise in 2026.
This continues a long-term sample: CEOs are constantly the least more likely to obtain a elevate of any worker kind within the group, even when pay is growing throughout the board. On the intense aspect, 21 % of firms undertaking a base wage improve above 5 % in 2026 for CEOs—the very best proportion of all titles.
CEOs Nonetheless Lag Behind Inflation
In 2025, the median base wage for personal firm CEOs elevated simply 2 %, from $317,242 in 2024 to $323,500. This improve falls brief of the inflation fee for 2025, at the moment standing at 2.9 %, and doesn’t stack as much as broader U.S. wage progress for personal trade employees of three.5 %.
Regardless of the modest improve in 2025 and projections for 2026, the actual worth of CEO pay continues to erode. Adjusted for cumulative inflation since 2020, CEO base salaries stay successfully flat—falling effectively in need of the 21 % improve in shopper costs recorded over that very same interval.
By comparability, mid-level and frontline roles have loved steadier wage progress in latest years doubtless pushed by retention pressures and aggressive labor markets. Between 2022 and 2026, the share of mid-level managers receiving a elevate has constantly hovered between 85 and 95 %, whereas the share of frontline and back-office staff who have acquired pay bumps every year hasn’t fallen under 90 % over the identical time interval.
Executives apart from the CEO have loved way more constant base wage features. In 2026, 82 % of senior executives count on to see a wage improve—roughly the similar as final yr—and practically one in 5 (18 %) anticipate raises above 5 %. Since 2022, their probability of receiving a rise has by no means dropped under two-thirds, signaling larger stability in govt pay buildings in contrast with CEOs.
For personal firms, this yr’s knowledge underscores a essential problem: Whereas wage progress is broadening throughout the workforce, it’s not preserving tempo on the high, leaving many CEOs with flat actual earnings. Possession construction, trade and measurement proceed to drive huge variations in CEO pay into 2026. The 2025–26 CEO & Senior Govt Compensation Report for Non-public U.S. Firms unpacks these developments throughout roles and industries, with detailed breakdowns and forward-looking insights to information your 2026 planning.
Order your copy and make knowledgeable, future-ready compensation selections at chiefexecutive.internet/compensationreport/order/.
