From Amazon to Starbucks, What Companies Paid Workers in the Pandemic

While the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted millions of jobs and most businesses, many workers kept their jobs and their salaries—and some saw pay rise.

Median pay changed by 5% or less either way at about a third of S&P 500 companies. It rose by more than 5% at 184 companies, and fell by more than 5% at 125.

Those are among the revelations from a Wall Street Journal analysis of annual disclosures by 492 companies using data provided by MyLogIQ. To see the median pay at S&P 500 companies, search or sort the table toward the bottom of this article.

Nearly 140 companies in the S&P 500—including Netflix Inc. and railroad CSX Corp. —said their median worker was paid at least $100,000 last year. Four dozen, including Starbucks Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., said their median worker made less than $30,000 last year. The wages from those four companies were little changed from 2019.

Pay across the U.S. economy remains in flux in 2021, with tight job markets and rising wages in many areas, particularly for low-wage front-line workers. Here is a closer look at 2020’s data: