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News Release Information

21-382-BOS
Wednesday, March 03, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Women’s Earnings in Massachusetts — 2019

In 2019, Massachusetts women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $1,012 or 86.5 percent of the $1,170 median usual weekly earnings of their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the 2019 women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio in Massachusetts compared to the 85.0 percent ratio from 2018. Nationwide, women earned $821 per week or 81.5 percent of the $1,007 median for men. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The earnings comparisons in this release are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization.

In Massachusetts, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has ranged from a low of 74.8 percent in 2007 to a high of 86.5 percent in 2019. Since 2010, the ratio has remained above 80.0 percent. (See chart 1. Data for the states began in 1997.)

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2019 ranged from $669 in Mississippi to $1,017 in Maryland. In addition to Maryland, women’s earnings in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia exceeded $1,000 per week. (See table 1 and chart 2 .)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Mississippi at $830 and highest in New Jersey at $1,176. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia had weekly wages above $1,000 for full-time male workers.

Maryland had the highest women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio among the states, 89.1 percent, and Wyoming had the lowest, 72.5 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 90.7 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and differences in the demographic composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, sampling error for state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates. Consequently, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution.


Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from the data presented in this report.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. Further information about the reliability of data from the CPS is available on the CPS Technical Documentation page of the BLS website.

The principal concepts and definitions used in connection with the earnings data in this release are described briefly below.

Usual weekly earnings. The 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). Respondents are asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, or other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term “usual” is determined by each respondent’s own understanding of the term.

Medians of usual weekly earnings. The earnings estimates shown in this release are medians. The median is the midpoint in a given earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median and the other half having earnings below the median.

Wage and salary workers. These are workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both the public and private sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time worker. People who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full time for the purpose of these estimates.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1089, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2019, available at https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2019/home.htm.

Information in this release will be available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

 

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state, 2019 annual averages
State Total Women Men Women’s
earnings as a
percentage
of men’s
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median

United States

117,584 $917 $2 52,577 $821 $3 65,007 $1,007 $3 81.5

Alabama

1,773 832 18 801 726 18 972 950 25 76.4

Alaska

234 985 20 108 878 22 126 1,097 39 80.0

Arizona

2,458 890 12 1,070 781 19 1,388 996 21 78.4

Arkansas

1,017 786 18 465 714 18 552 874 22 81.7

California

13,648 971 8 5,818 911 10 7,830 1,024 13 89.0

Colorado

2,149 985 15 919 913 20 1,230 1,057 33 86.4

Connecticut

1,316 1,073 31 596 972 39 720 1,136 38 85.6

Delaware

367 868 24 172 790 16 195 954 29 82.8

District of Columbia

318 1,462 17 163 1,406 45 155 1,550 33 90.7

Florida

7,476 822 8 3,497 759 9 3,979 892 12 85.1

Georgia

3,872 861 16 1,777 765 16 2,095 950 23 80.5

Hawaii

478 905 15 227 847 20 251 995 30 85.1

Idaho

613 805 14 246 682 14 367 919 20 74.2

Illinois

4,668 996 13 2,084 886 14 2,584 1,108 24 80.0

Indiana

2,482 863 14 1,084 726 18 1,397 986 20 73.6

Iowa

1,251 868 18 573 770 19 677 959 27 80.3

Kansas

1,061 839 17 482 733 17 579 945 21 77.6

Kentucky

1,486 815 18 654 724 17 831 914 22 79.2

Louisiana

1,524 828 20 710 720 19 814 978 29 73.6

Maine

462 865 12 210 772 17 252 980 33 78.8

Maryland

2,481 1,084 23 1,180 1,017 30 1,301 1,142 28 89.1

Massachusetts

2,732 1,117 20 1,256 1,012 18 1,476 1,170 20 86.5

Michigan

3,471 922 11 1,540 803 18 1,931 1,010 14 79.5

Minnesota

2,061 1,005 19 934 909 20 1,127 1,104 25 82.3

Mississippi

947 744 12 453 669 21 493 830 26 80.6

Missouri

2,206 891 19 1,028 786 18 1,178 1,008 24 78.0

Montana

339 844 17 148 739 14 191 952 21 77.6

Nebraska

724 879 16 332 786 22 391 940 23 83.6

Nevada

1,176 844 17 515 776 15 661 920 19 84.3

New Hampshire

544 999 21 238 893 19 306 1,136 31 78.6

New Jersey

3,421 1,046 19 1,553 932 18 1,868 1,176 23 79.3

New Mexico

664 799 20 293 717 13 371 891 21 80.5

New York

6,901 983 10 3,188 895 15 3,712 1,068 19 83.8

North Carolina

3,730 853 13 1,711 770 11 2,019 920 17 83.7

North Dakota

292 917 14 128 783 17 164 1,051 32 74.5

Ohio

4,121 925 11 1,842 825 16 2,278 1,014 17 81.4

Oklahoma

1,322 806 16 582 708 16 741 926 22 76.5

Oregon

1,409 930 19 591 836 27 818 1,024 40 81.6

Pennsylvania

4,561 946 13 2,062 828 12 2,499 1,069 18 77.5

Rhode Island

388 979 15 176 884 31 213 1,057 57 83.6

South Carolina

1,853 833 16 873 733 14 979 953 25 76.9

South Dakota

322 880 12 144 758 14 178 969 18 78.2

Tennessee

2,519 836 15 1,139 739 14 1,380 945 28 78.2

Texas

10,460 870 8 4,548 772 9 5,913 954 14 80.9

Utah

1,068 905 13 404 755 12 664 1,014 19 74.5

Vermont

235 940 16 111 879 18 125 1,016 34 86.5

Virginia

3,275 1,021 18 1,464 928 26 1,811 1,139 25 81.5

Washington

2,816 1,026 21 1,207 889 24 1,609 1,137 22 78.2

West Virginia

589 797 13 262 715 19 327 875 25 81.7

Wisconsin

2,107 928 18 934 832 22 1,173 1,010 24 82.4

Wyoming

197 915 13 84 762 19 113 1,051 31 72.5

Note: In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates; thus, comparisons of state estimates should be made with caution. Data shown are based on workers' state of residence; workers' reported earnings, however, may or may not be from a job located in the same state.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, March 03, 2021