Gender Pay Gap by State: Where the Gap Is and Isn't Closing

The impact of pay transparency legislation extends to metropolitan areas as well. In 2024, metros like San Jose and Detroit have been identified with the largest uncontrolled gender wage gaps, while Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Nashville show the most significant controlled gender pay disparities.

Some metropolitan cities managed to close the gender pay gap last year across both controlled and uncontrolled categories. Additionally, a significant number of these areas are seeing a narrowing in controlled pay gaps this year.

However, no metropolitan area has seen a reduction in the uncontrolled wage gap in 2024. This stagnation may be attributed to economic slowdowns and employers' dominance in the job market, leading to lower wages and a reduced focus on pay equality.

Positively, the implementation of pay transparency laws has aided major metros in bridging controlled pay gaps. This trend is also observed in states without such legislation, as numerous organizations voluntarily adopt pay transparency practices.

Notably, metro areas like Portland, Philadelphia, New York, Orlando, Tampa, San Francisco, Houston, Washington D.C., Boston, Seattle, Raleigh, Cleveland, and San Diego have made progress in closing controlled pay gaps in 2024.

Globally, as per the World Economic Forum, no country has yet achieved complete gender equality. Iceland leads with a 91.2% closure of its gender gap, the only country surpassing 90%.

Alongside Iceland, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Namibia, and Nicaragua have closed their gaps to 80%. North America's gender parity stands at 75%, slightly below Europe's 76.3%, with the United States experiencing a 2.1 percentage point drop in its overall parity score.

The smallest gender wage gap is found in the social and physical sciences, yet women in these fields still earn less than their male counterparts, with men earning an average of 9% more than women.

Below is a breakdown of industries with the smallest gender pay gaps:

Jobs With Largest Gender Wage Cap

As of 2023, the legal profession exhibits the largest gender pay gap, with men earning over 54% more than their women counterparts.

Since the pandemic, women's employment levels have increased, thanks in part to changes in fiscal policy that helped the US economy quickly recover from the COVID-19 recession.

Many women have shifted to remote work for various reasons, including flexibility and safety. Interestingly, the pay gap for remote workers is larger compared to those who work onsite, although the gap nearly disappears when considering controlled pay situations. This suggests that remote work has the potential to offer equal pay for women under the right conditions.

Moreover, women who change jobs or plan to leave their current roles often secure higher pay, although some remain in their positions for the benefits despite lower wages.

Leadership and Pay Equity

Women remain underrepresented in leadership roles, and while the pay equity gap has narrowed, men continue to hold a majority of leadership positions. In a controlled pay gap scenario, women executives earn 94 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, a contrast to the 72 cents in an uncontrolled gap.

Retirement Income

The gender pay gap extends into retirement. Women's lower lifetime earnings result in about 30% less in Social Security contributions than men, leading to women receiving, on average, 20% less in Social Security benefits.

Income disparity exists not only between genders but is also exacerbated by race and ethnicity.

Rural women of color, in particular, face the lowest wages, with rural Black and Hispanic women earning just over 56 cents for every dollar earned by rural non-Hispanic white men.

In 2024, Latinas earn only 55% of what non-Hispanic white men earn, while Black women and Native American women earn 64% and 59%, respectively.

Below is the manager wage gap by race and ethnicity:

The gender pay gap spans all age groups.

For young workers in the age group of 16 to 24, the usual weekly earnings of women's median are 8% lower than men's. The gap is even wider for prime-age workers. They earn 16% lower than their male counterparts.

It’s even wider among the age group of 55-64 with women earning 22% less than men. Additionally, women aged 65 years and older earn 27% less than their male counterparts of the same age group.

Motherhood exacerbates the gender pay gap, unlike fatherhood, which appears to boost earnings for men.

Fathers earn a median pay of $79,300, compared to $77,900 for childless fathers in a controlled gap, and $67,200 in an uncontrolled gap.

Mothers, however, earn a median pay of $59,800, with little difference between those with and without children in controlled ($59,800) and uncontrolled ($59,200) scenarios, highlighting a significant disparity.

Occupational segregation influences gender, ethnicity, and race.

There are two approaches:

• Demographic concentration

• Occupational composition.

Demographic concentration refers to the overrepresentation or underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in specific job categories, contributing to pay disparities.

For example, before the pandemic, 60% of women worked in just three sectors—leisure & hospitality, education & health, and wholesale & retail trade—which were heavily impacted by the pandemic, complicating employment recovery for those without college degrees.

Occupational composition describes the distribution of different demographic groups across various professions, further influencing income disparities.

Below is the top five composition of highest paying professions by ethnicity, race and sex:

Caregiving responsibilities disproportionately affect women, creating a significant difference between the number of men and women working part-time or not working to care for family members or children.

Regardless of parental status or age, women are five to eight times more likely than men to see their employment affected by caregiving, leading to reduced working hours or frequent leaves from work, which negatively impacts their economic security.

Contrary to common belief, a lack of education is not a major factor in the gender pay gap.

Higher education levels only slightly narrow the pay equity gap. Those with high school diplomas see a controlled pay gap of $0.97, while MBA and Law degree holders see gaps of $0.99 and $0.88, respectively.

Women with MBAs earn $0.77 for every dollar paid to their male counterparts with the same degree, and in law and health professions, the uncontrolled pay gaps are $0.88 and $0.89, respectively.

The traditional notion of men as the sole breadwinners has evolved; women now significantly contribute to household incomes, striving for social equality and economic security.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, three-quarters of women aged 25-54, known as the prime-age group, are employed—a slight increase from a decade ago.

An impressive 84% of these employed women work full-time, indicating a shift in employment patterns despite challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to targeted fiscal policies, the US economy rebounded swiftly from the pandemic-induced recession, enabling women to regain employment levels seen before COVID-19.

Since January 2023, notable improvements include:

• An increase in labor force participation among prime-age women to 77%, setting a new record for women either working or seeking work.

• Women's overall employment level reached 99%, with a full 100% for prime-age women.

• A record-high employment-to-population ratio for prime-age women is 74.7%, surpassing the 2019 rate of 73.7%.

Additionally, employment among mothers, especially those with children under eighteen, has improved thanks to expanded childcare funding, the reopening of schools, and the creation of new job opportunities.

• It’s been reported that over 993,000 more mothers started working in December 2022. The number has increased post-pandemic.

• Mothers with children of five years and below have also seen a rise in employment levels. The employment level stands at 99.2%, which is the same as the pre-COVID level.