In 2017, Pennsylvania women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $768, or 79.1 percent of the $971 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 Pennsylvania increased 1.6 percentage points from the previous year. Nationwide, women earned $770 per week, or 81.8 percent of the $941 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 Pennsylvania, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has ranged from a low of 71.8 percent in 1997 to a high of 81.7 percent in 2012. The ratio had declined in four of the past five years, before increasing in 2017. (See chart 1. Data for the states began in 1997.)

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2017 ranged from $643 in Mississippi to $971 in Massachusetts. In addition to Massachusetts, women’s earnings in Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey were above $875 per week. In the District of Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,191. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in New Mexico at $771 and highest in Massachusetts at $1,204. Three other states (Connecticut, Maryland, 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 $1,385.

New Mexico had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 90.9 percent, and Wyoming had the lowest, 71.6 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 86.0 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 1075, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2017, available at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2017/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, 2017 annual averages

State	Total			Women			Men			Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s
	Number of workers (in thou- sands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median	Number of workers (in thou- sands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median	Number of workers (in thou- sands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median
United States	113,272	$860	$2	50,291	$770	$3	62,980	$941	$4	81.8
Alabama	1,593	753	14	712	656	17	881	845	25	77.6
Alaska	253	979	18	117	883	27	136	1,090	43	81.0
Arizona	2,283	830	17	970	749	17	1,312	916	26	81.8
Arkansas	1,023	722	13	496	665	15	527	799	23	83.2
California	13,145	913	8	5,620	827	11	7,525	992	11	83.4
Colorado	2,049	918	14	854	838	20	1,195	986	20	85.0
Connecticut	1,290	1,011	19	577	938	40	713	1,102	47	85.1
Delaware	349	840	22	160	785	19	189	905	26	86.7
District of Columbia	311	1,273	30	158	1,191	45	153	1,385	50	86.0
Florida	7,092	768	7	3,312	726	9	3,780	826	14	87.9
Georgia	3,717	775	12	1,736	720	17	1,981	866	29	83.1
Hawaii	497	821	18	234	734	23	263	918	28	80.0
Idaho	568	794	16	230	695	13	338	893	17	77.8
Illinois	4,426	918	12	1,965	791	16	2,460	1,017	17	77.8
Indiana	2,425	805	14	1,075	708	19	1,350	903	28	78.4
Iowa	1,167	825	15	522	738	17	645	907	20	81.4
Kansas	1,040	823	18	459	749	20	581	916	21	81.8
Kentucky	1,477	774	15	676	673	20	801	834	30	80.7
Louisiana	1,498	773	15	673	686	20	825	886	26	77.4
Maine	445	845	24	201	760	23	244	911	22	83.4
Maryland	2,295	1,036	28	1,041	959	37	1,254	1,131	41	84.8
Massachusetts	2,597	1,078	21	1,157	971	18	1,440	1,204	32	80.6
Michigan	3,405	853	16	1,455	765	12	1,950	928	17	82.4
Minnesota	2,128	955	20	937	844	26	1,191	1,026	24	82.3
Mississippi	944	723	13	454	643	18	490	794	25	81.0
Missouri	2,166	826	17	1,006	733	20	1,160	925	27	79.2
Montana	321	800	19	135	713	15	185	883	22	80.7
Nebraska	696	814	16	311	760	23	385	871	28	87.3
Nevada	1,071	746	12	451	675	14	621	808	16	83.5
New Hampshire	512	918	20	225	838	21	287	1,003	25	83.5
New Jersey	3,241	1,016	13	1,486	929	17	1,755	1,138	23	81.6
New Mexico	622	737	13	268	701	16	354	771	22	90.9
New York	7,120	918	9	3,303	850	15	3,817	984	13	86.4
North Carolina	3,574	810	10	1,655	754	13	1,919	874	19	86.3
North Dakota	291	857	18	128	740	18	164	952	18	77.7
Ohio	4,021	832	12	1,801	743	13	2,220	908	15	81.8
Oklahoma	1,308	766	11	554	685	16	754	859	25	79.7
Oregon	1,413	873	23	604	770	24	810	945	22	81.5
Pennsylvania	4,448	869	13	1,985	768	11	2,463	971	17	79.1
Rhode Island	391	897	14	178	833	24	213	956	32	87.1
South Carolina	1,673	799	14	753	696	16	920	898	20	77.5
South Dakota	308	769	13	141	679	15	168	858	19	79.1
Tennessee	2,291	780	15	1,034	704	17	1,257	874	23	80.5
Texas	9,918	813	9	4,243	734	9	5,675	894	11	82.1
Utah	1,044	827	15	394	692	14	650	952	18	72.7
Vermont	227	874	19	103	816	24	124	918	21	88.9
Virginia	3,134	937	18	1,414	844	20	1,720	1,043	33	80.9
Washington	2,538	961	20	1,066	825	22	1,472	1,093	27	75.5
West Virginia	569	747	12	253	670	20	316	830	22	80.7
Wisconsin	2,159	860	13	926	777	18	1,233	936	21	83.0
Wyoming	197	875	21	82	720	17	115	1,006	21	71.6
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. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.