Maine had the second-slowest wage growth in the nation between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released this month.

Maine’s average weekly wage increased by less than $40 — from $1,249 in the first three months of 2024 to $1,283 in the first quarter of 2025, a sharp drop from the $131 weekly increase between the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, which was the sixth-highest in the country.

Maine’s increase this year was lower than every state but Kentucky, which saw weekly wage growth of $35 over the same period. That was also below the national average increase of $62 a week over that period.

While the data is a snapshot of the first quarter of the year, it generally mirrors the annual average each year.

From 2021-2022, the state saw a 10.2% increase in wages. That slowed to a 7% increase in 2022-2023 and a 5.2% increase from 2023-2024.

Maine’s average weekly wage of $1,283 a week was also lower than the national average of $1,589, and ranked No. 34 among D.C. and the other 49 states.

Washington, D.C., saw the biggest gains in wage growth between the first three months of 2024 and 2025, increasing by $172 a week, followed by Hawaii, New York, Alaska and Washington State.