The gender pay gap - the term coined for the differences in earnings between men and women - has closed by just 1% across the US within the most recent five years*.
However, the differences in pay can be better understood at a state level - with wild variations in between. Analysing the most recent five years of data for median earnings for women and men by state, Moneyzine.com can reveal where the gender pay gap is - and isn’t - closing.
This report demonstrates that while much work is left to be done, women across the country are earning more and rapidly catching up to their male counterparts.
However, it’s also clear that more support and awareness is crucially needed to understand why even with women’s earnings increasing more than men’s in over 60% of states, men out-earn women in every single one.Jonathan Merry, CEO of Moneyzine.com
Gender Pay Gap Five Year Difference
When comparing the median income for women versus men, it’s clear that the gender pay gap is rapidly closing in some states whereas in others, it’s come to a standstill.
Vermont is the state that has closed the gender pay gap the most in the last five years.
In Vermont, women’s wages have increased by 31% in the last five years, but women still earn 11% less than men - the smallest wage gap out of any other state (from 23% in 2017).
Wyoming not only has the largest wage gap currently, but the gap actually increased by 5% in the last five years.
Women earn the most per year in Massachusetts, but the gender wage gap between men and women has not changed at all in the past five years in this state.
Vermont is the number one state that has made the biggest strides in this ranking factor, with a gender pay gap difference between 2017 and 2021 of - 12%, indicating that women in 2021 earn far closer to what men earn than five years ago.
For context, in 2017 men had a median income of $39,966, while women earned a median average income of $30.939. In 2021, the median earnings for men had increased to $45,506, whilst women’s earnings had shot up by 31% to $40,583 per year, rapidly closing that gender divide.
Wyoming is once again the worst-performing state here. Women’s median earnings have increased by just 1% - from $30,208 to $30,661 in five years. In contrast, men’s earnings have increased significantly more - from $45,644 to $50,235. The gender pay gap in Wyoming in 2021 stood at a whopping 39%.
In 13 out of 50 states, the gender gap has actually widened in the last five years, meaning women are earning relatively less compared to men than they were 5 years ago. In addition to the states listed above, the remaining eight include Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Washington, and South Carolina.
Here’s the full comparison for all states.
Current Gender Pay Gaps
Using the official data released by the US Census, the most recent median earnings for men and women are from 2021 to give us the most current gender pay gap information. Utah measures up the same as Wyoming when we look at the data for 2021. In both states, women earn 39% less than men - a large wage gap than any other state. The states with the smallest wage gap, in contrast, are:
Vermont
Nevada
New York
Florida
Rhode Island
Maryland
California
However, with these states all combined, women still earn an average of 19% less than men. Out of all the states in the US, women earn an average of 26% less than men.
If we assume that men and women both started working from the first working day of 2023, and the gender pay gap is 26%, then women would effectively start working for free for the remainder of the year on the 27th October 2023.
Increase in Women’s Income In The Last Five Years
Women’s median annual income has increased across every state in the past five years - but the degree to which the median earnings have increased varies wildly.
In Wyoming, the median annual earnings for women have increased by just 1% in the last five years. In contrast, men’s median earnings in this state have increased by 10%.
In 31 states, women’s median earnings have increased more in the last five years than the median earnings of men - although women still earn less than men, on average, in every state.
Women’s earnings have increased the most in Idaho, with the average earnings increasing by 35% in the past five years. In contrast, men’s earnings increased by 20% in this time - although women still earn 32% less than men in this state.
Women’s median income has increased the most in the last five years in Idaho, with a 35% increase in earnings between 2017 and 2021. Likewise, Vermont has a similarly high increase, at 31%.
Highest Median Earnings
Women earn the most per year overall in Massachusetts ($47,449), Maryland ($47,339), New Jersey ($44,878), and New York ($42,480). However, it’s interesting to note that none of these high-paying states rank in the top 10 for the greatest five-year difference in median earnings for women.
What’s more, all four states have a considerable gender gap when we compare the median earnings of men in the same state. New Jersey has a gender gap of 28%, and while women in Massachusetts may earn more than women in any other state, they still earn an average of 25% less than their male counterparts.
At the other end of the scale, there has been the least movement in women’s median income in the last five years in Wyoming, with a just 1% increase. North Dakota and Hawaii take the penultimate second and third lowest spots for income increase in the last five years.
Methodology
Moneyzine.com looked at the S2411 American Community Survey ‘Occupation By Sex And Median Earnings In The Past Months’ tables from 2017 to 2021 (the most recent year available), sourced from Census.gov.
Using the median earnings for male and female civilian employed individuals aged 16 years and over with earnings, Moneyzine.com calculated:
The most recent gender pay gap (calculated via: ((median earnings for men - median earnings for women) / median earnings for men) x 100%
The percentage women’s median earnings have increased in the five year period (using the formula: ((median Income in 2021 - median Income in 2017) / median income in 2017) * 100%
The five year difference in gender pay gap between 2017 and 2021 (calculated by subtracting the 2021 gender pay gap percentage from the 2017 gender pay gap percentage).
We also looked at the five year percentage increase for men’s median earnings to formulate a comparison against how much women’s earnings have increased (or decreased) year on year.
__
*According to the most recent data available from the US Census, from 2017 to 2021.
Contributors
