Wives who earn more than their husbands, 1987-2005
November 30, 2007
In 2005, 26 percent of working wives whose husbands also worked earned more than their husbands.
[Chart data—TXT]
This is up from 18 percent in 1987.
Among all married-couple families in which the wife (but not necessarily the husband) had earnings from work in 2005, 33 percent of the wives earned more than their husbands. This is about a third higher than the 1987 figure of 24 percent.
These data on earnings are from the Current Population Survey. For more information see "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2007 Edition)," BLS Report 1002.
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United States Department of Labor
