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Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary

Presidential Pay 1789 to 2012, in Current and Constant (2012) dollars $2,000,000

$1,750,000

$1,500,000

$1,250,000

$1,000,000

$750,000

$400,000

$500,000

$250,000 $100,000 $50,000 $75,000 $25,000 $200,000

$0 1789 1799 1809 1819 1829 1839 1849 1859 1869 1879 1889 1899 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009

Current Dollar Yearly Pay Constant (2012) Dollars

Source of current-dollar presidential pay: Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Presidency, at http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fedprssal.html. 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 -adjusted dollars for 1789-1912 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; e-mail: [email protected]; online: http://oregonstate.edu/cla/polisci/sahr/sahr pres-cong_pay_summary 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 70 65.5 Current-dollar yearly pay of Presidents: 1960: $100,000; 1970-2000: $200,000; $1,200,000 2001 and later: $400,000 60

$1,111,000

$1,000,000 50 Left Scale $800,000 40

$714,000

28.9 $600,000 30 $559,000 24.0

$400,000 17.5 $486,000 20

$327,000

$200,000 $293,000 10 paypresidentialcompensation of to CEO Ratio Yearly presidential pay dollarsconstant(2012)in pay presidential Yearly Right $267,000 Scale 3.1 1.9 2.7 $0 0 1960 1970 1980 1992 1996 2000 2004

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

Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 3

Ratio of Presidential Pay to Median Family Income, 1948 to 2011

35

32.2

30 Read this graph as follows: In 2011, the pay of the President was 6.56 times the median US family income 25

21.2 20

15

11.6 10

5 Presidential Pay: 1948: $75,000 6.56 1949-1968: $100,000 1969-2000: $200,000 3.9 2001 and later: $400,000 0 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008

Source: Census Bureau web site, family income

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

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 $250,000 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

$0 1789 1799 1809 1819 1829 1839 1849 1859 1869 1879 1889 1899 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009

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

Presidential and Congressional Pay 1789 to 2012 Summary, page 5

Ratio of Congress Pay to Median Family Income, 1948 to 2012 6

5 5.09

4 3.61

3

2.85

2

Read this as follows: In 2012, the pay of members of Congress was 2.85 1 times the median US family income. Note: the pay of members of Congress has not been increased since 2009

0 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008

Sources: Congressional Reference Service and Census Bureau web site, family income

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)

300

275 257 Read this as follows: In 2004, the pay of CEOs was 253 about 178 times the median US family income and 250 61 times the pay of members of Congress; the pay of members of Congress was about 2.9 times 227 225 the median US family income (note: data are not 214 available for all these elements after 2004) 200 178 175 158 150 143 137

125

96 100 91 93 78 78 75 61 56 54 49 50 43 34 30 24 27 25 15 8 4.00 2.28 2.02 3.54 3.16 2.9 2.79 2.78 2.75 2.90 2.94 2.92 0 1960 1970 1980 1992 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Ratio CEO:Congress Ratio CEO:Family Ratio: Congress:Family

Source of CEO Compensation Data: Business Week, selected years

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 Notes: This shows average for each president's entire time in office, for example, both non- consecutive terms for Grover Adams Cleveland, in calculating his average inflation-adjusted pay. Andrew Jackson When a president died or left office before the end of his term, the calculation assumes that both the Wm. Henry Harrison president and succeeding vice- president had that pay for that James K. Polk entire year (so that year "double- counts"), 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. Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James Garfield Chester Arthur William McKinley William H. Taft Highest Warren Harding Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard M. Nixon George H. W. Bush William J. Clinton Lowest George W. Bush $- $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; e-mail: [email protected]; online: http://oregonstate.edu/cla/polisci/sahr/sahr pres-cong_pay_summary 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 $1,390,000 William McKinley $1,370,000 Theodore Roosevelt $1,300,000 Grover Cleveland $1,270,000 Benjamin Harrison $1,250,000 Franklin D. Roosevelt $1,160,000 Chester Arthur $1,140,000 James Garfield $1,140,000 Rutherford B. Hayes $1,120,000 Herbert Hoover $1,110,000 Richard M. Nixon $1,110,000 Warren Harding $1,000,000 Calvin Coolidge $1,000,000 Harry S Truman $870,000 Gerald Ford $860,000 Dwight D. Eisenhower $820,000 John F. Kennedy $760,000 Zachary Taylor $740,000 Millard Fillmore $740,000 Ulysses S. Grant $730,000 James K. Polk $730,000 John Tyler $720,000 Lyndon B. Johnson $710,000 Franklin Pierce $690,000 James Buchanan $690,000 Jimmy Carter $660,000 Wm. Henry Harrison $660,000 Andrew Jackson $650,000 Martin Van Buren $620,000 $590,000 $560,000 James Monroe $500,000 Thomas Jefferson $490,000 Abraham Lincoln $480,000 George W. Bush $480,000 John Adams $460,000 Ronald Reagan $440,000 Barack Obama $410,000 James Madison $410,000 Andrew Johnson $380,000 George H. W. Bush $350,000 William J. Clinton $290,000 $0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000