Ever been curious about how your salary stacks up against other people in your age bracket? Whether you're a rookie Zoomer or a seasoned Gen X professional, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has the data that reveals all.

The BLS crunches the numbers for the median figure, which offers a more accurate picture of typical pay than the average since it's not thrown off by a relatively small number of super-low or mega-high salaries.

Read on to get the lowdown based on the latest data, and also discover what the gender pay gap is for each age group.

Only 35.7% of 16 to 19-year-olds are in employment as of August 2024, with the majority in either high school or higher education. Teen Gen Zs who are working are paid less than every other age bracket, with the median coming in at $32,552.

This is due to a variety of factors. The youngest workers often work only part-time or seasonally, juggling study with a side hustle. With minimal experience, their salaries obviously tend to be lower than those earned by older workers. What's more, federal law permits employers to pay their youngest workers as little as $4.25 per hour for their first 90 days on the job – and in some states, teen workers can be paid a subminimum wage on a permanent basis.

The gender pay gap between teenage boys and girls stands at 9.7%, which is the narrowest of all the cohorts.

One potential reason for this pay gap is that girls between 16 and 19 are thought to spend more time than boys on chores and caregiving, which means less time for earning money. According to a 2019 report from the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, girls in this age bracket devote between 30 and 45 minutes more each day to unpaid domestic labor and family care than their male peers.

When it comes to middle-of-the-generation Zoomers, 70.5% are in work.

It's worth noting the average age of graduation for associate degree college students is 21, while the average for bachelor’s degree students is 24. This partly explains the age cohort's rather modest median salary of $39,104, which is almost a third lower than that of the next age bracket.

In the early stages of their careers, 20 to 24-year-olds are paid less because of their relative inexperience. And interestingly, this age bracket is working fewer hours than the others, according to recent analysis from ADP Research. In contrast to older workers, 20 to 24-year-olds typically place more of an emphasis on work-life balance and flexibility than pay.

This age group's gender pay gap is slightly wider than that of teen workers at 9.8%, but narrower than that of older cohorts.

There's more of a level playing field given this age group is at the start of their professional journey. Additionally, the so-called motherhood penalty is less pronounced, as many women don’t tend to start families until their late 20s and beyond. This means many women are less likely to face career interruptions, work part-time, or be penalized for taking time off for family-related reasons.

This age group is made up of older Gen Zs and young Millennials, who are sometimes called Zillennials.

With higher education over for most and careers gaining momentum, 25 to 34-year-olds earn significantly more than their younger counterparts, collecting a median salary of $57,316. This substantial increase in earnings reflects the growing experience and responsibilities that come with professional advancement.

At 14%, the gender pay gap for this age group is considerably wider than that of 20 to 24-year-olds. This can in part be attributed to the larger proportion of women having children at this juncture. In fact, according to Pew Research, the average age of first-time moms in the US is just over 27.

Those born between 1980 and 1989, the older Millennials (aka geriatric Millennials) and middle-of-the-generation Gen Ys, have typically made important career strides. This is reflected in their larger paychecks. The cohort has a median salary of $64,844, which is 13% higher than the typical yearly pay figure for the Zillennials.

Unfortunately, the gender pay gap is wider among 35 to 44-year-olds, coming in at 19.2%.

The cumulative effect of the motherhood penalty, which is manifested in a slew of ways from lower pay to reduced career advancement – not to mention factors such as unequal pay negotiations and workplace discrimination – are starting to bite big-time for the average woman in this age bracket.

Those aged 45 to 54, the younger Gen Xers, have reached the peak of their earning potential, according to data from the BLS. Firmly established in their careers by this point, the age group has a bumper median salary of $68,432, higher than that of any other cohort.

While this demographic earns more typically than any other, the gender pay gap is wider than that of younger cohorts.

Again, this is down to the combined impact of factors such as women being overlooked for promotion after having children and taking time off from work, as well as ingrained gender bias in the workplace. Though gender-based discrimination has been illegal in the US since 1964, it sadly persists.

The median salary for workers born between 1960 and 1969, the older Gen Xers and younger Baby Boomers, is 9% lower than that of 44 to 54-year-olds.

The median wage starts to dip at this age as more workers choose to go part-time and the luckiest ones retire. Age discrimination also plays a part, despite the fact it's illegal. Among other things, it can take the form of a demotion or lay-off, and this is reflected in the lower median salary.

This age bracket has the widest gender pay gap of them all at a cavernous 23%.

Years of being overlooked for promotion, combined with other cumulative gender-related factors, clearly hit hard. Gender bias is evident in the lower proportion of women in senior management roles and over-representation in part-time employment, with the National Women's Law Center claiming women lose an average of almost $400,000 over a 40-year career.

Pay drops even further for those aged 65 and over, with the median salary falling to $60,008.

Many in this age group, which is mostly made up of Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation, have retired. Among those who have stayed in the workforce, a large proportion work part-time or command lower salaries. As is the case with the slightly younger cohort, age discrimination also contributes to depressed wages among this demographic.

The gender pay gap has a tendency to narrow once a person reaches 65, though it remains wide at 20.1%. This might come as a surprise since a section of this cohort started their careers before gender-related discrimination was outlawed in the US, and it may simply be explained by the relative absence of high earners of any gender in this age bracket.

On another note, women typically hold lower retirement wealth than men and therefore less security in their golden years than their male counterparts.

Now discover what the average American is worth in every state and see how you compare