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News Release Information

17-1382-PHI
Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Women’s Earnings in Maryland — 2016

In 2016, Maryland women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $915, or 87.3 percent of the $1,048 median usual weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio in Maryland increased 3.5 percentage points from the previous year. Nationwide, women earned $749 per week, or 81.9 percent of the $915 median for men. (See table 1. Earnings in this release do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences.)

In Maryland, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has ranged from a low of 74.4 percent in 1997 to a high of 87.3 percent in 2009 and 2016. (See chart 1. Data for the states began in 1997.)

  Chart 1. Womens earnings as a percentage of mens, full-time wage and salary workers, the United States and Maryland, 1997-2016 annual averages

 

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2016 ranged from $624 in Mississippi to $932 in Massachusetts. In addition to Massachusetts, women’s earnings in Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut were above $875 per week. In the District of Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,117. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $769 and highest in Connecticut at $1,164. Two other states (Massachusetts and New Jersey) had weekly wages above $1,100 for full-time male workers. In the District of Columbia, men earned a median weekly wage of $1,274.

Vermont had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 90.2 percent, and Utah had the lowest, 69.9 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 87.7 percent. (See chart 3.) 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. In addition, sampling error for state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates. Thus, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution.


Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from the data presented in this report.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. Further information about the reliability of data from the CPS is available on the CPS Technical Documentation page of the BLS website.

The principal concepts and definitions used in connection with the earnings data in this release are described briefly below.

Usual weekly earnings. The data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders). Respondents are asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, or other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term “usual” is determined by each respondent’s own understanding of the term. 

Medians of usual weekly earnings. The earnings estimates shown in this release are medians. The median is the midpoint in a given earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median and the other half having earnings below the median.

Wage and salary workers. These are workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both the public and private sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time worker. People who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full time for the purpose of these estimates.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1069, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2016, available at https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2016/pdf/home.pdf.

Information in this release will be available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state, 2016 annual averages
State Total Women Men Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s
Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median

United States

111,091 $832 $2 49,161 $749 $2 61,930 $915 $3 81.9

Alabama

1,580 743 15 715 651 16 865 856 33 76.1

Alaska

245 932 19 113 841 27 133 1,014 27 82.9

Arizona

2,213 829 16 947 768 14 1,266 890 17 86.3

Arkansas

1,014 716 13 459 638 16 555 769 17 83.0

California

12,862 879 8 5,383 814 11 7,479 925 13 88.0

Colorado

1,995 894 20 841 812 18 1,154 967 20 84.0

Connecticut

1,232 1,014 27 555 876 33 677 1,164 35 75.3

Delaware

357 831 22 166 775 21 191 902 27 85.9

District of Columbia

306 1,198 33 152 1,117 28 154 1,274 38 87.7

Florida

6,799 750 6 3,158 701 10 3,641 805 13 87.1

Georgia

3,581 771 13 1,654 721 16 1,927 839 25 85.9

Hawaii

494 794 16 218 718 21 276 869 29 82.6

Idaho

540 759 14 220 645 18 320 843 19 76.5

Illinois

4,513 887 12 1,979 775 13 2,534 978 19 79.2

Indiana

2,402 762 16 1,079 702 22 1,322 829 22 84.7

Iowa

1,143 763 13 528 684 17 614 895 23 76.4

Kansas

1,026 762 13 460 692 19 566 851 33 81.3

Kentucky

1,413 761 11 650 711 19 763 828 29 85.9

Louisiana

1,517 757 15 704 659 21 813 863 28 76.4

Maine

438 820 18 194 754 17 244 900 28 83.8

Maryland

2,386 987 23 1,120 915 30 1,266 1,048 50 87.3

Massachusetts

2,504 1,019 17 1,114 932 17 1,390 1,105 21 84.3

Michigan

3,260 841 15 1,438 742 12 1,822 932 16 79.6

Minnesota

2,035 946 16 901 849 25 1,134 1,020 28 83.2

Mississippi

941 702 15 452 624 18 490 778 26 80.2

Missouri

2,199 793 16 1,021 703 23 1,178 885 29 79.4

Montana

314 781 17 138 705 19 176 866 23 81.4

Nebraska

706 766 11 318 697 18 388 855 23 81.5

Nevada

996 754 12 414 681 15 582 828 23 82.2

New Hampshire

524 904 25 230 762 16 294 1,013 24 75.2

New Jersey

3,324 998 13 1,448 894 25 1,877 1,113 27 80.3

New Mexico

621 730 16 280 679 22 341 772 24 88.0

New York

6,837 916 10 3,145 840 13 3,692 975 12 86.2

North Carolina

3,533 761 10 1,598 704 11 1,935 836 19 84.2

North Dakota

299 805 12 131 713 12 168 930 19 76.7

Ohio

3,927 806 10 1,717 713 10 2,210 899 17 79.3

Oklahoma

1,248 724 16 534 651 12 714 824 22 79.0

Oregon

1,327 857 18 554 791 24 772 904 23 87.5

Pennsylvania

4,453 857 12 1,984 741 11 2,468 956 12 77.5

Rhode Island

385 839 19 179 765 30 206 907 21 84.3

South Carolina

1,623 779 16 773 687 18 851 884 20 77.7

South Dakota

309 778 14 137 670 12 172 876 16 76.5

Tennessee

2,252 747 14 983 666 17 1,269 821 19 81.1

Texas

9,801 780 8 4,197 707 10 5,603 860 12 82.2

Utah

997 833 18 358 668 16 640 955 20 69.9

Vermont

228 850 14 104 801 27 124 888 27 90.2

Virginia

3,025 902 15 1,376 809 22 1,649 1,013 30 79.9

Washington

2,506 929 21 1,065 814 18 1,441 1,056 33 77.1

West Virginia

565 762 14 248 688 17 316 846 30 81.3

Wisconsin

2,098 843 16 947 737 14 1,152 940 20 78.4

Wyoming

199 848 17 82 699 22 117 970 28 72.1

NOTE: In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates; thus, comparisons of state estimates should be made with caution. Data shown are based on workers’ state of residence; workers’ reported earnings, however, may or may not be from a job located in the same state.
 

  Chart 2. Womens median usual weekly earnings, full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2016 annual averages
  Chart 3. Womens earnings as a percentage of mens, full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2016 annual averages

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2017