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Highlights of women's earnings in 2021

In 2021, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings that were 83 percent of those of male full-time wage and salary workers. In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women’s earnings were 62 percent of men’s earnings. Most of the growth in women’s earnings relative to men’s occurred in the 1980s (when the women’s-to-men’s ratio went from 64 percent to 70 percent) and in the 1990s (when the ratio went from 72 percent to 77 percent). Since 2004, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has remained in the 80 to 83 percent range. (See chart 1 and tables 1 and 12.)

This report presents earnings data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The weekly and hourly earnings estimates in this report reflect information collected from one-fourth of the households in the monthly survey and averaged for the calendar year. The data in this report are distinct from the annual earnings estimates for full-time, year-round workers collected separately in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the CPS and published by the U.S. Census Bureau. (See the Current Population Survey’s frequently asked questions page for an explanation of the differences in these datasets.)

The earnings comparisons in this report are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be important in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization. The earnings estimates referenced throughout this report are medians. The median is the mid-point in the earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median level and half having earnings below.

See the accompanying technical notes section for more information, including a description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report.

Earnings of full-time workers

This report highlights data for women and men who usually work full time (35 hours or more per week) in wage and salary jobs, with sections focusing on characteristics such as age, race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, education, occupation, and more.

Earnings by age group

In 2021, median weekly earnings were $912 for all women age 16 and older. For men age 16 and older, median weekly earnings were $1,097. Women’s median weekly earnings were highest for those ages 45 to 54, with earnings of $1,012. Women ages 35 to 44 and ages 55 to 64 had earnings that were slightly lower—$992 and $976, respectively. For men, earnings were also highest for those ages 45 to 54, with earnings of $1,295. Men ages 35 to 44 and ages 55 to 64 had earnings that were slightly lower, at $1,241 and $1,256, respectively. Young women and men ages 16 to 24 had the lowest earnings ($605 and $650, respectively). (See chart 2 and table 1.)

 

Among workers age 35 and older, women earned between 77 percent and 80 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2021. Women ages 25 to 34 earned 91 percent of what men did, while women ages 16 to 24 earned 93 percent of what men earned. The earnings difference between men and women has historically been smaller for those under age 35 than for those in older age groups. (See tables 1 and 12.)

Women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios have grown substantially for most age groups since 1979. For young workers ages 16 to 24, the gains occurred primarily in the 1980s. For workers ages 25 to 64, the gains continued into the 2000s, but have tapered off in recent years. (See table 12.)

Earnings by race and ethnicity

Asian women and men earned more than their White, Black, and Hispanic counterparts in 2021. Among women, Whites ($925) earned 81 percent as much as Asians ($1,141), Blacks ($776) earned 68 percent, and Hispanics ($718) earned 63 percent. Among men, these earnings differences were even larger: White men ($1,125) earned 77 percent as much as Asian men ($1,453), Black men ($825) earned 57 percent as much, and Hispanic men ($820) earned 56 percent. (See chart 3 and table 1.)

Earnings differences between women and men were largest among Asians and among Whites. Asian women earned 79 percent as much as Asian men and White women earned 82 percent as much as White men. In comparison, Black women had median earnings that were 94 percent of Black men’s, and Hispanic women’s earnings were 88 percent of Hispanic men’s. (See table 1.)

Women’s earnings have increased considerably since 1979 (the first year for which comparable data for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics are available), with White women experiencing the greatest earnings growth. From 1979 to 2021, inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings (also called constant-dollar earnings) increased by 44 percent for White women, and by 31 percent for both Black and Hispanic women. Yet, within this overall increase, White and Black women’s gains tapered off around 2004. Since that time, White women experienced an earnings growth of 10 percent, and Black women experienced an increase of 7 percent. In contrast, although substantial earnings growth for Hispanic women did not begin until the late 1990s, while their gains did taper off in 2004, their gains rebounded more quickly than those of White or Black women and generally remained on an upward trend. After sharp increases in 2020, earnings of White, Black, and Hispanic women declined from 2020 to 2021. These declines must be interpreted with caution as employment continued to recover in 2021—especially among lower-paid workers. Despite the earnings decline in 2021, earnings for White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic women were still higher in 2020 and 2021 than their pre-pandemic (2019) levels. (See table 18.)

The long-term trend in men’s earnings has been quite different than that for women. Inflation-adjusted earnings for White and Black men trended down from 1979 through the first part of the 1990s, followed by a period of growth that stalled in the early 2000s. For Hispanic men, earnings also declined from 1979 through the mid-1990s, then began to trend upwards. Over the full period, 1979 through 2021, inflation-adjusted earnings have seen a net increase for White (8 percent), Black (4 percent), and Hispanic (7 percent) men. (See table 18.)

Between 2000 and 2021, inflation-adjusted earnings for Asian women and men remained on an upward trend. (Data for Asians are not available prior to 2000.) Asian women’s earnings grew by 32 percent and Asian men’s earnings grew by 35 percent over that period. (See table 18.)

Earnings by educational attainment

Median weekly earnings vary significantly by educational attainment. Among all workers age 25 and older, the weekly earnings of those without a high school diploma ($626) were 43 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree and higher ($1,452) in 2021. For workers with a high school diploma who had not attended college, median earnings ($809) were 56 percent of those for workers with a bachelor’s degree and higher. Those with some college or an associate’s degree ($925) made 64 percent of what workers with a bachelor’s degree and higher made. (See table 1.)

In each educational attainment category, the long-term trend in inflation-adjusted earnings has been more favorable for women than for men. The inflation-adjusted earnings of women without a high school diploma increased by 4 percent between 1979 and 2021. By contrast, inflation-adjusted earnings for men declined by 22 percent. For those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, inflation-adjusted earnings for women have increased by 38 percent since 1979, while earnings for men have risen by 20 percent. (Data refer to workers age 25 and older.) (See chart 4 and table 19.)

Earnings by occupation

Women and men working full time in management, business, and financial operations occupations had higher median weekly earnings than workers in any other major occupational category in 2021 ($1,306 for women and $1,672 for men). Within this category, women who were computer and information systems managers ($1,908) and chief executives ($1,904) had the highest median weekly earnings in 2021. Among men, those who were architectural and engineering managers ($2,723) and chief executives ($2,721) earned the most. (See table 2.)

The second-highest paying occupational category for women and men was professional and related occupations ($1,167 for women and $1,555 for men). This is a broad occupational category made up of several distinct job groupings for specialized fields such as computer science and math, architecture and engineering, law, education, and healthcare. Within this diverse category, women who were other physicians ($2,283), pharmacists ($2,087), and lawyers ($1,912) had the highest median weekly earnings in 2021. For men, those who were other physicians ($2,647), lawyers ($2,495), and medical scientists ($2,291) earned the most. (See table 2.)

Women and men employed in service occupations earned the least in 2021 ($598 for women and $723 for men). Within this category, women who were employed as dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers ($477) and host and hostesses, restaurant lounge, and coffee shop ($500) had the lowest median weekly earnings. For men, those who were employed as fast food and counter workers ($511), dishwashers ($511), and food preparation workers ($571) earned the least.

Occupational distributions of women and men

The occupational distributions of female and male full-time workers differ considerably. Compared with men, relatively few women work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations and women are far more concentrated in office and administrative support jobs. (See chart 5 and table 2.)

Women also are more likely than men to work in professional and related occupations. In 2021, 32 percent of women worked in professional and related occupations, compared with 21 percent of men. Within the professional category, though, the proportion of women employed in the higher paying jobs is much smaller than the proportion of men employed in them. In 2021, 11 percent of women in professional and related occupations were employed in the relatively high-paying computer and mathematical (median weekly earnings of $1,499 for women and $1,742 for men), and architecture and engineering ($1,435 for women and $1,725 for men) occupations, compared with 48 percent of men. Women were over twice as likely to work in education ($1,071 for women and $1,332 for men) and healthcare ($1,218 for women and $1,516 for men) jobs, which generally pay less than computer and engineering jobs. Sixty-six percent of women in professional occupations worked in education and healthcare jobs in 2021, compared with 29 percent of men. (See table 2.)

Across all occupational categories, the three most common jobs for women were registered nurse ($1,274), elementary and middle school teacher ($1,138), and secretary and administrative assistant ($807). Collectively, these occupations employed 6.0 million women in 2021, representing 12 percent of women in full-time wage and salary jobs.

Among men, the most common job by far was truck driver (driver/sales workers and truck drivers, $933). In 2021, 2.5 million, or 4 percent, of all male full-time wage and salary workers were truck drivers. Although engineering jobs are shown separately by specialty (civil, mechanical, etc.) in this report, if combined, engineer would be the second most common job for men. In 2021, a total of 1.9 million men were employed full time in the 16 designated engineering specialties (median weekly earnings ranging from $1,661 to $2,083). (See table 2.)

Earnings for those with and without children under 18

In 2021, one-third of full-time wage and salary workers were parents of children under age 18. (As defined here, “children” include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children under age 18 who live in the household.) Median weekly earnings for mothers of children under age 18 ($939) were higher than the earnings for women without children under 18 ($899). Earnings for fathers of children under age 18, at $1,240, were higher than the earnings of $1,019 for men without children under 18. (See table 7.)

Earnings by state of residence

Median weekly earnings and women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios vary by state of residence. (In this report, “state” refers to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.) 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. Readers should note that sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates. (See the technical notes section for an explanation of sampling error.) Consequently, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution. Readers should also note that the state estimates are based on workers’ state of residence; their reported earnings are not necessarily from a job located in the same state. (See table 3.)

Weekly work hours of full-time workers

Among full-time workers (those usually working at a job 35 hours or more per week), men are more likely than women to work more than 40 hours per week. In 2021, 22 percent of men who usually work full time worked 41 or more hours per week, compared with 14 percent of women. Women were more likely than men to work 35 to 39 hours per week: 10 percent of women working full time worked such hours in 2021, while 4 percent of men did. A majority of both male (74 percent) and female (77 percent) full-time workers had a 40-hour workweek. Among these workers, women earned 88 percent as much as men. (This analysis excludes people who usually work 35 or more hours per week but whose hours vary.) (See table 5.)

Earnings of part-time workers

Women are more likely than men to work part time—that is, less than 35 hours per week on a sole or main job. Women who worked part time made up 20 percent of all female wage and salary workers in 2021. In comparison, 10 percent of men in wage and salary jobs worked part time. (See tables 4 and 5.)

Median weekly earnings for female part-timers were $320 in 2021, little different than the $311 median for men. (See table 4.)

Part-time workers are more likely to be under age 25 than full-time workers. Among part-timers, 31 percent of women and 43 percent of men were under age 25 in 2021. Among full-time workers, 9 percent were under age 25 for both men and women. (See tables 1 and 4.)

Earnings of workers paid by the hour

In 2021, 58 percent of women and 54 percent of men in wage and salary jobs were paid by the hour. Women who were paid hourly rates had median hourly earnings of $16.02 in 2021, which were 89 percent of the $18.05 median for men. (See tables 8 and 11.)

Among workers who were paid hourly rates in 2021, 2 percent of women and 1 percent of men had hourly earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25. (See tables 10 and 11.) (See the technical notes section for information about BLS estimates of the number of minimum wage workers.)