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In 2012, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $691. On average in 2012, women made about 81 percent of the median earnings of male full-time wage and salary workers ($854). In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women earned 62 percent of what men earned.
Women's earnings as percent of men's, median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, in current dollars, by age, 1979–2012 annual averages
Year
Total, 16 years and older
16-19 years
20-24 years
25-34 years
35-44 years
45-54 years
55-64 years
65 years and older
1979
62.3
85.2
76.3
67.5
58.3
56.8
60.6
77.6
1980
64.2
89.5
78.1
69.4
58.3
56.9
59.4
76.4
1981
64.4
91.7
80.6
70.3
59.9
56.8
58.9
71.1
1982
65.7
92.9
82.4
72.1
61.1
60.1
61.4
70.3
1983
66.5
94.0
85.5
73.3
61.5
59.5
61.8
68.8
1984
67.6
93.1
85.2
74.6
62.0
59.4
61.5
66.8
1985
68.1
90.7
85.7
75.1
63.0
59.7
61.0
65.9
1986
69.5
91.4
87.5
76.1
63.9
60.9
61.2
71.5
1987
69.8
87.8
88.0
76.7
66.1
62.3
62.2
68.7
1988
70.2
89.8
90.0
77.7
68.5
61.7
62.3
70.9
1989
70.1
94.3
89.7
78.3
68.3
62.7
63.9
74.3
1990
71.9
90.8
90.3
79.3
69.6
63.8
63.7
74.4
1991
74.2
93.6
93.3
81.0
70.7
65.0
64.5
68.3
1992
75.8
94.0
94.3
82.0
71.9
65.8
64.9
77.9
1993
77.1
92.8
95.4
83.0
73.0
67.4
67.4
74.3
1994
76.4
92.5
94.5
82.9
72.6
67.1
66.0
76.2
1995
75.5
88.1
92.4
82.2
72.6
67.7
64.7
80.0
1996
75.0
88.8
92.8
83.2
73.3
68.9
65.3
70.0
1997
74.4
91.6
90.5
82.9
74.0
69.4
64.7
77.0
1998
76.3
88.6
89.4
82.9
73.6
70.5
68.1
72.6
1999
76.5
91.4
90.5
81.5
71.7
70.0
67.9
78.7
2000
76.9
92.5
92.7
82.4
71.6
73.2
69.1
75.1
2001
76.4
90.3
91.9
83.0
72.5
73.5
70.5
69.0
2002
77.9
94.6
93.9
84.5
75.2
74.6
71.6
73.8
2003
79.4
93.1
93.9
86.9
76.1
73.0
72.7
71.1
2004
80.4
92.1
93.8
87.8
75.6
72.9
73.0
74.6
2005
81.0
92.1
93.8
89.0
75.5
75.5
74.7
76.4
2006
80.8
87.6
94.9
88.2
77.2
73.5
72.9
77.5
2007
80.2
89.1
90.3
86.9
76.5
74.5
72.8
77.8
2008
79.9
87.3
92.5
88.5
74.5
74.9
75.4
74.8
2009
80.2
90.7
92.9
88.7
77.4
73.6
75.3
76.1
2010
81.2
94.6
93.8
90.8
79.9
76.5
75.2
75.7
2011
82.2
88.6
93.2
92.3
78.5
76.0
75.1
80.9
2012
80.9
88.5
89.0
90.2
78.1
75.1
76.2
77.6
Among the age groupings of those 35 years and older, women had earnings that ranged from 75 percent to 78 percent of the earnings of their male counterparts. Among younger workers, the earnings differences between women and men were not as great. Among workers who were 25 to 34 years old, women earned 90 percent of what men earned; among 16- to 24-year-olds, women earned 89 percent as much as men.
Between 1979 and 2012, women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios rose for most age groups. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, for example, the ratio increased from 68 percent in 1979 to 90 percent in 2012. The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio for 45- to 54-year-olds increased from 57 percent to 75 percent.
When adjusted for inflation, women’s earnings since 1979 have increased considerably across the major race and Hispanic ethnicity categories. Earnings growth has been largest for White woman, outpacing that of their Black and Hispanic counterparts. Between 1979 and 2012, inflation-adjusted earnings rose by 31 percent for White women, compared with an increase of 20 percent for Black women and 13 percent for Hispanic women.
Median usual weekly earnings of female full-time wage and salary workers, in constant dollars, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 1979–2012 annual averages
(1) As of 2003, Asians constitute a separate category.
Asian women earned more than their White, Black, and Hispanic or Latino counterparts in 2012. White women ($710) earned 92 percent as much as Asian women ($770), while Black ($599) and Hispanic women ($521) earned 78 percent and 68 percent as much as Asians, respectively.
These data are from theCurrent Population Survey. Earnings data in this article are median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. To learn more, see "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2012,” BLS Report 1045 (PDF). Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
United States Department of Labor
