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News Release Information

13-2366-ATL
Thursday, January 23, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Women’s Earnings In Georgia — 2012

In 2012, Georgia women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $640 or 76.4 percent of the $838 median weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that in Georgia the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings decreased from 80.1 percent in 2011. (See chart 1.) Nationwide, women earned $691 or 80.9 percent of the $854 median for men. (See table1. Earnings in this report do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences.)

In Georgia, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings has ranged from a low of 72.2 percent in 1998 to a high of 87.8 percent in 2003.

 Chart 1. Women’s earnings as a percent of men’s, full-time wage and salary workers, Georgia and the United States, 1997–2012 annual averages

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2012 ranged from $566 in Montana to $868 in Connecticut. States with the highest wages for women were located along the Eastern Seaboard. In addition to Connecticut, women’s earnings in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey were also above $800 per week. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Across the nation, median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $717 and highest in Connecticut at $1,127. Four of the five highest paying states for full-time male workers (Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey) were located along the Eastern Seaboard. The sole exception was on the West Coast—Alaska. (See table 1.)

The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2012 varied across the nation, ranging from 65.5 percent in Wyoming to 86.8 percent in Arizona. (See table 1.) Two other states recorded ratios above 85.0 percent – California at 86.0 percent and Maryland at 85.2 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and in the age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, comparisons by gender are on a broad level and do not control for factors such as educational attainment which can be significant in explaining earnings differences.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1045, Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012, issued in October 2013; copies are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2012.pdf. Information in this release is also available to sensory impaired individuals. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.


Technical Note

The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides a wide range of information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a national sample of about 60,000 households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among data for the states reflect, in part, variations in the occupation, industry, and age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data.

The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series in this release are described below.

Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders.)

Median weekly earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median.

Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time worker. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job.

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state and sex, 2012 annual averages
State Both sexes Women Men Women's earnings as percent of men's
Number of workers (thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median

United States

102,749 $768 $2 45,462 $691 $3 57,286 $854 $4 80.9

Alabama

1,522 724 14 683 620 15 839 812 27 76.4

Alaska

248 888 16 110 757 14 138 1,025 27 73.9

Arizona

1,969 732 9 878 670 14 1,090 772 18 86.8

Arkansas

971 651 15 438 603 10 534 717 21 84.1

California

11,570 820 10 4,890 754 9 6,680 877 12 86.0

Colorado

1,714 850 18 725 750 15 989 958 24 78.3

Connecticut

1,178 988 22 519 868 29 659 1,127 40 77.0

Delaware

309 807 20 146 737 20 163 888 36 83.0

District of Columbia

276 1,102 37 138 1,072 43 138 1,131 38 94.8

Florida

6,299 735 6 2,992 676 9 3,307 796 13 84.9

Georgia

3,287 737 13 1,503 640 17 1,784 838 26 76.4

Hawaii

430 753 14 192 689 16 238 839 35 82.1

Idaho

478 706 13 187 614 11 291 785 15 78.2

Illinois

4,368 809 11 1,958 708 13 2,411 895 16 79.1

Indiana

2,158 716 14 936 632 16 1,221 809 19 78.1

Iowa

1,096 744 14 491 654 17 605 823 20 79.5

Kansas

988 738 14 428 649 14 560 825 22 78.7

Kentucky

1,414 663 12 644 596 13 770 733 18 81.3

Louisiana

1,449 676 18 637 573 17 812 796 20 72.0

Maine

423 741 13 191 654 25 232 823 25 79.5

Maryland

2,198 921 20 1,056 842 23 1,141 988 27 85.2

Massachusetts

2,167 935 12 980 840 19 1,187 1,040 28 80.8

Michigan

2,876 783 14 1,237 687 18 1,639 889 20 77.3

Minnesota

1,897 865 15 816 779 23 1,081 948 24 82.2

Mississippi

922 677 14 413 582 19 509 776 23 75.0

Missouri

2,013 750 18 913 660 19 1,099 841 30 78.5

Montana

293 658 21 137 566 18 156 733 23 77.2

Nebraska

680 728 14 312 663 17 369 787 21 84.2

Nevada

897 690 11 399 620 10 497 768 19 80.7

New Hampshire

478 883 21 214 772 24 264 975 29 79.2

New Jersey

3,142 935 13 1,425 818 26 1,717 1,030 25 79.4

New Mexico

614 737 17 274 645 25 340 802 22 80.4

New York

6,513 819 10 2,951 746 9 3,562 900 14 82.9

North Carolina

3,124 727 10 1,392 641 13 1,732 792 13 80.9

North Dakota

266 735 12 116 651 12 149 834 23 78.1

Ohio

3,662 739 9 1,589 664 10 2,073 802 15 82.8

Oklahoma

1,299 695 11 570 631 15 729 760 16 83.0

Oregon

1,144 823 19 480 756 17 664 901 28 83.9

Pennsylvania

4,320 774 8 1,898 694 11 2,423 849 13 81.7

Rhode Island

342 796 21 158 733 23 184 886 42 82.7

South Carolina

1,462 669 15 677 603 17 785 724 18 83.3

South Dakota

282 664 10 129 604 9 153 737 16 82.0

Tennessee

2,125 675 12 922 611 12 1,203 740 15 82.6

Texas

8,904 718 7 3,852 633 9 5,051 795 15 79.6

Utah

879 760 14 326 661 18 552 870 25 76.0

Vermont

216 767 16 96 692 19 120 859 29 80.6

Virginia

2,974 846 17 1,335 756 21 1,640 951 24 79.5

Washington

2,204 870 21 935 746 20 1,269 982 28 76.0

West Virginia

574 740 14 257 614 14 317 846 28 72.6

Wisconsin

1,929 783 16 833 696 25 1,095 863 20 80.6

Wyoming

207 808 17 81 645 22 126 984 19 65.5

Note: In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger that it is for the national estimates; thus, comparisons of state estimates should be made with caution.
 

 Chart 2. Women’s median usual weekly earnings, full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2012 annual averages
 Chart 3. Women’s earnings as a percent of men’s, full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2012 annual averages

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, January 23, 2014