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Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year, is on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $1,005 in 2023. That was 83.6 percent of the $1,202 median for men who were full-time wage and salary workers. Women had lower median weekly earnings than men in most of the occupations for which we have earnings data for both women and men.
Occupational group | Women | Men |
---|---|---|
Architecture and engineering occupations |
1,635 | 1,864 |
Computer and mathematical occupations |
1,628 | 1,976 |
Legal occupations |
1,543 | 2,301 |
Management occupations |
1,483 | 1,900 |
Life, physical, and social science occupations |
1,445 | 1,658 |
Business and financial operations occupations |
1,406 | 1,674 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations |
1,341 | 1,682 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations |
1,271 | 1,381 |
Community and social service occupations |
1,144 | 1,157 |
Education, training, and library occupations |
1,134 | 1,376 |
Protective service occupations |
884 | 1,190 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations |
875 | 1,104 |
Office and administrative support occupations |
864 | 983 |
Sales and related occupations |
830 | 1,196 |
Construction and extraction occupations |
795 | 991 |
Production occupations |
742 | 966 |
Personal care and service occupations |
706 | 779 |
Healthcare support occupations |
704 | 794 |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
694 | 897 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
621 | 749 |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
618 | 700 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations |
614 | 728 |
Note: Earnings are in U.S. dollars. |
Looking at occupational groups, those with the highest median weekly earnings for women were architecture and engineering occupations ($1,635) and computer and mathematical occupations ($1,628) in 2023. Median earnings for women were $621 or less per week in 3 occupational groups: building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations, food preparation and serving related occupations, and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.
Occupation | Median weekly earnings (U.S. dollars) |
Women's to men's earnings ratio (percent) |
|
---|---|---|---|
Women | Men | ||
Total, full-time wage and salary workers |
1,005 | 1,202 | 83.6 |
Management occupations |
|||
Chief executives |
2,520 | 2,983 | 84.5 |
General and operations managers |
1,347 | 1,689 | 79.8 |
Marketing managers |
1,746 | 1,911 | 91.4 |
Sales managers |
1,688 | 2,297 | 73.5 |
Computer and information systems managers |
2,192 | 2,313 | 94.8 |
Financial managers |
1,497 | 2,100 | 71.3 |
Human resources managers |
1,706 | 1,891 | 90.2 |
Purchasing managers |
1,585 | 1,879 | 84.4 |
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers |
1,219 | 1,318 | 92.5 |
Construction managers |
1,431 | 1,747 | 81.9 |
Education and childcare administrators |
1,469 | 1,870 | 78.6 |
Food service managers |
924 | 1,121 | 82.4 |
Medical and health services managers |
1,540 | 1,914 | 80.5 |
Property, real estate, and community association managers |
1,143 | 1,521 | 75.1 |
Social and community service managers |
1,341 | 1,501 | 89.3 |
Managers, all other |
1,536 | 1,887 | 81.4 |
Business and financial operations occupations |
|||
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products |
1,029 | 1,270 | 81.0 |
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products |
1,216 | 1,514 | 80.3 |
Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators |
1,306 | 1,468 | 89.0 |
Compliance officers |
1,377 | 1,597 | 86.2 |
Human resources workers |
1,259 | 1,367 | 92.1 |
Training and development specialists |
1,222 | 1,648 | 74.2 |
Logisticians |
994 | 1,207 | 82.4 |
Project management specialists |
1,661 | 1,919 | 86.6 |
Management analysts |
1,817 | 1,993 | 91.2 |
Market research analysts and marketing specialists |
1,552 | 1,771 | 87.6 |
Business operations specialists, all other |
1,224 | 1,737 | 70.5 |
Accountants and auditors |
1,504 | 1,644 | 91.5 |
Financial and investment analysts |
1,643 | 1,760 | 93.4 |
Personal financial advisors |
1,552 | 2,082 | 74.5 |
Credit counselors and loan officers |
1,294 | 1,457 | 88.8 |
Other financial specialists |
1,233 | 2,386 | 51.7 |
Computer and mathematical occupations |
|||
Computer systems analysts |
1,487 | 1,894 | 78.5 |
Computer programmers |
1,760 | 1,906 | 92.3 |
Software developers |
2,020 | 2,296 | 88.0 |
Computer support specialists |
1,348 | 1,478 | 91.2 |
Computer occupations, all other |
1,430 | 1,631 | 87.7 |
Operations research analysts |
1,665 | 2,208 | 75.4 |
Other mathematical science occupations |
1,474 | 1,668 | 88.4 |
Architecture and engineering occupations |
|||
Architects, except landscape and naval |
1,691 | 1,893 | 89.3 |
Civil engineers |
1,465 | 1,839 | 79.7 |
Industrial engineers, including health and safety |
1,682 | 1,766 | 95.2 |
Engineers, all other |
1,904 | 1,953 | 97.5 |
Other engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters |
982 | 1,287 | 76.3 |
Life, physical, and social science occupations |
|||
Medical scientists |
1,537 | 2,290 | 67.1 |
Physical scientists, all other |
1,649 | 1,742 | 94.7 |
Other life, physical, and social science technicians |
1,275 | 1,430 | 89.2 |
Community and social service occupations |
|||
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors |
1,158 | 1,227 | 94.4 |
Counselors, all other |
1,011 | 1,248 | 81.0 |
Social workers, all other |
1,228 | 1,253 | 98.0 |
Social and human service assistants |
962 | 967 | 99.5 |
Legal occupations |
|||
Lawyers |
2,330 | 2,505 | 93.0 |
Paralegals and legal assistants |
1,125 | 1,425 | 78.9 |
Education, training, and library occupations |
|||
Postsecondary teachers |
1,565 | 1,852 | 84.5 |
Elementary and middle school teachers |
1,220 | 1,370 | 89.1 |
Secondary school teachers |
1,213 | 1,347 | 90.1 |
Other teachers and instructors |
1,124 | 1,242 | 90.5 |
Teaching assistants |
685 | 772 | 88.7 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations |
|||
Graphic designers |
1,221 | 1,294 | 94.4 |
Other designers |
1,408 | 1,495 | 94.2 |
Producers and directors |
1,609 | 1,312 | 122.6 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations |
|||
Pharmacists |
2,180 | 2,238 | 97.4 |
Other physicians |
2,907 | 2,920 | 99.6 |
Physical therapists |
1,526 | 1,715 | 89.0 |
Registered nurses |
1,409 | 1,657 | 85.0 |
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians |
1,089 | 1,172 | 92.9 |
Radiologic technologists and technicians |
1,321 | 1,483 | 89.1 |
Pharmacy technicians |
886 | 992 | 89.3 |
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
984 | 1,018 | 96.7 |
Healthcare support occupations |
|||
Home health aides |
625 | 709 | 88.2 |
Personal care aides |
668 | 751 | 88.9 |
Nursing assistants |
695 | 765 | 90.8 |
Medical assistants |
738 | 904 | 81.6 |
Other healthcare support workers |
790 | 919 | 86.0 |
Protective service occupations |
|||
Correctional officers and jailers |
914 | 1,133 | 80.7 |
Police officers |
1,034 | 1,363 | 75.9 |
Security guards and gambling surveillance officers |
717 | 811 | 88.4 |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
|||
Chefs and head cooks |
690 | 854 | 80.8 |
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers |
677 | 819 | 82.7 |
Cooks |
608 | 682 | 89.1 |
Food preparation workers |
600 | 645 | 93.0 |
Bartenders |
745 | 768 | 97.0 |
Fast food and counter workers |
595 | 639 | 93.1 |
Waiters and waitresses |
617 | 684 | 90.2 |
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
588 | 607 | 96.9 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
|||
First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers |
699 | 1,050 | 66.6 |
Janitors and building cleaners |
626 | 745 | 84.0 |
Maids and housekeeping cleaners |
611 | 686 | 89.1 |
Personal care and service occupations |
|||
Recreation workers |
716 | 801 | 89.4 |
Sales and related occupations |
|||
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers |
904 | 1,094 | 82.6 |
First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers |
1,151 | 1,464 | 78.6 |
Cashiers |
602 | 616 | 97.7 |
Retail salespersons |
710 | 988 | 71.9 |
Advertising sales agents |
1,398 | 1,728 | 80.9 |
Insurance sales agents |
927 | 1,310 | 70.8 |
Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents |
1,654 | 2,412 | 68.6 |
Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel |
1,137 | 1,451 | 78.4 |
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing |
1,215 | 1,535 | 79.2 |
Real estate brokers and sales agents |
1,215 | 1,444 | 84.1 |
Sales and related workers, all other |
807 | 1,019 | 79.2 |
Office and administrative support occupations |
|||
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers |
1,075 | 1,209 | 88.9 |
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks |
922 | 1,100 | 83.8 |
Financial clerks, all other |
1,009 | 1,335 | 75.6 |
Customer service representatives |
799 | 918 | 87.0 |
Receptionists and information clerks |
749 | 770 | 97.3 |
Couriers and messengers |
711 | 885 | 80.3 |
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance |
852 | 1,128 | 75.5 |
Postal service mail carriers |
1,015 | 1,194 | 85.0 |
Production, planning, and expediting clerks |
1,333 | 1,335 | 99.9 |
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks |
789 | 827 | 95.4 |
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive |
882 | 1,101 | 80.1 |
Data entry keyers |
809 | 819 | 98.8 |
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks |
896 | 1,062 | 84.4 |
Office clerks, general |
824 | 867 | 95.0 |
Office and administrative support workers, all other |
988 | 1,038 | 95.2 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations |
|||
Miscellaneous agricultural workers |
598 | 704 | 84.9 |
Construction and extraction occupations |
|||
Construction laborers |
711 | 870 | 81.7 |
Production occupations |
|||
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers |
914 | 1,263 | 72.4 |
Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers |
782 | 887 | 88.2 |
Other assemblers and fabricators |
758 | 852 | 89.0 |
Bakers |
656 | 726 | 90.4 |
Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers |
696 | 818 | 85.1 |
Other metal workers and plastic workers |
684 | 906 | 75.5 |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
809 | 1,010 | 80.1 |
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders |
698 | 752 | 92.8 |
Other production workers |
771 | 893 | 86.3 |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
|||
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers |
791 | 1,127 | 70.2 |
Bus drivers, transit and intercity |
811 | 979 | 82.8 |
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers |
734 | 1,016 | 72.2 |
Industrial truck and tractor operators |
786 | 812 | 96.8 |
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment |
605 | 704 | 85.9 |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
685 | 801 | 85.5 |
Packers and packagers, hand |
667 | 732 | 91.1 |
Stockers and order fillers |
667 | 730 | 91.4 |
The gap between women’s and men’s earnings generally is larger in occupations with higher median earnings. Other financial specialists had the greatest percentage difference in median weekly earnings between women ($1,233) and men ($2,386), followed by first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers ($699 women; $1,050 men); and medical scientists ($1,537 women; $2,290 men); and securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents ($1,654 women; $2,412 men).
Of the detailed occupations for which both male and female median weekly earnings data are available, women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s were highest for these occupations: producers and directors (122.6 percent); production, planning, and expediting clerks (99.9 percent); other physicians (99.6 percent); and social and human service assistants (99.5 percent).
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see the Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex data table and other Annual Average Data. For more data about women and wages, see demographics and earnings pages. These comparisons of earnings are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that may be important in explaining earnings differences. Median (or 50th percentile) earnings are the midpoint in an earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Women’s earnings were 83.6 percent of men’s in 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/womens-earnings-were-83-6-percent-of-mens-in-2023.htm (visited February 18, 2025).