Median weekly earnings were $916 for women in third quarter 2021, 83.3 percent of men's earnings

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 115.3 million full-time wage and salary workers were $1,001 in the third quarter of 2021. Women had median weekly earnings of $916, or 83.3 percent of the $1,100 median for men.

In the third quarter of 2021, median weekly earnings for Black men were $813, or 71.7 percent of the median for White men ($1,134). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $826, or 72.8 percent of the median for White men. The difference was less among women, as Black women's median earnings were $783, or 84.3 percent of those for White women ($929), and earnings for Hispanic women were $723, or 77.8 percent of those for White women. Earnings of Asian men ($1,414) and women ($1,189) were higher than those of their White counterparts.

Among full-time workers age 25 and over, median weekly earnings for women with a bachelor's degree or higher were $1,311 in the third quarter of 2021, or 79.4 percent of the median for men with a bachelor’s degree or higher ($1,652). The difference was greater among workers with less than a high school diploma, as women ($534) earned 77.5 percent as much as their male ($689) counterparts.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Third Quarter 2021" and more charts of usual weekly earnings data. Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or main job. The median is the midpoint in the earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less. People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.