Pay increases for U.S. chief executives have gained steam, putting compensation on pace to set a record amid a tight labor market that is also driving pay higher for many of their workers.

Median pay rose to $14.2 million last year for the leaders of S&P 500 companies, up from a record $13.4 million for the same companies a year earlier, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of pay data for more than half the index from MyLogIQ LLC.

Most CEOs received a pay increase of 11% or more, and pay rose by at least 25% for nearly one-third of them. Pay fell for about a quarter of the CEOs, including Paycom Software Inc.’s Chad Richison, last year’s highest-paid S&P 500 leader, whose pay fell to about $3 million from $211 million.