In 2018, Pennsylvania women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $804, or 80.6 percent of the $998 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 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. Nationwide, women earned $789 per week, or 81.1 percent of the $973 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. (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 2018 ranged from $637 in Mississippi to $995 in Massachusetts. In addition to Massachusetts, women’s earnings in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Jersey were above $900 per week. In the District of Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,259. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $809 and highest in Massachusetts at $1,170. Five other states (Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Washington) had weekly wages above $1,100 for full-time male workers. In the District of Columbia, men earned a median weekly wage of $1,445.

California had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 88.3 percent, and Wyoming had the lowest, 67.8 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 87.1 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. Consequently, 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. The 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 survey data on earnings are based on 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 reflect 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. 

The median of usual weekly earnings reflect 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 are people 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 workers are defined for the purposes of these estimates as those who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1083, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2018, available at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2018/.

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

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state, 2018 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	115,567	$886	$2	51,425	$789	$3	64,142	$973	$3	81.1
Alabama	1,658	805	18	749	688	23	910	922	23	74.6
Alaska	251	972	18	113	857	29	138	1,081	41	79.3
Arizona	2,404	826	12	1,062	762	17	1,342	910	26	83.7
Arkansas	991	739	13	462	681	16	529	809	22	84.2
California	13,536	934	9	5,800	876	12	7,736	992	12	88.3
Colorado	2,144	975	17	922	908	18	1,221	1,069	36	84.9
Connecticut	1,330	1,029	23	597	923	36	733	1,140	29	81.0
Delaware	366	882	20	174	789	28	192	982	13	80.3
District of Columbia	315	1,355	23	160	1,259	25	155	1,445	35	87.1
Florida	7,251	786	8	3,357	716	9	3,894	867	13	82.6
Georgia	3,812	831	15	1,749	744	15	2,063	919	21	81.0
Hawaii	497	889	16	234	797	23	263	965	31	82.6
Idaho	581	788	13	234	702	17	348	883	17	79.5
Illinois	4,606	943	12	2,049	831	16	2,557	1,069	21	77.7
Indiana	2,517	824	14	1,092	726	21	1,425	910	28	79.8
Iowa	1,172	858	14	523	753	17	649	977	27	77.1
Kansas	1,060	836	18	467	753	21	593	908	24	82.9
Kentucky	1,511	772	15	691	696	20	820	847	24	82.2
Louisiana	1,498	808	19	690	698	19	808	918	21	76.0
Maine	450	876	19	209	814	21	241	934	34	87.2
Maryland	2,353	1,042	30	1,085	950	39	1,268	1,147	35	82.8
Massachusetts	2,704	1,080	24	1,231	995	17	1,473	1,170	22	85.0
Michigan	3,436	902	11	1,483	811	17	1,952	987	17	82.2
Minnesota	2,083	1,022	18	948	937	32	1,135	1,096	43	85.5
Mississippi	965	734	13	458	637	19	506	831	23	76.7
Missouri	2,190	868	19	1,013	763	24	1,177	946	28	80.7
Montana	330	825	16	143	722	19	187	918	22	78.6
Nebraska	703	830	16	318	747	17	386	931	26	80.2
Nevada	1,154	775	11	501	720	13	653	827	16	87.1
New Hampshire	532	997	20	234	898	21	298	1,104	41	81.3
New Jersey	3,321	1,034	15	1,487	933	16	1,834	1,148	20	81.3
New Mexico	658	788	21	293	711	24	365	873	25	81.4
New York	6,994	928	10	3,230	849	10	3,764	993	14	85.5
North Carolina	3,679	815	11	1,700	739	13	1,979	885	13	83.5
North Dakota	283	889	17	122	749	16	161	1,013	24	73.9
Ohio	4,042	873	11	1,822	764	12	2,220	965	17	79.2
Oklahoma	1,338	828	15	579	712	17	760	946	19	75.3
Oregon	1,372	900	13	598	808	19	774	985	32	82.0
Pennsylvania	4,465	909	12	1,991	804	12	2,474	998	15	80.6
Rhode Island	389	942	29	181	781	28	208	1,088	32	71.8
South Carolina	1,692	822	18	773	739	13	919	922	21	80.2
South Dakota	312	803	11	143	731	11	169	884	14	82.7
Tennessee	2,357	792	16	1,051	719	14	1,306	894	21	80.4
Texas	10,168	824	9	4,362	739	8	5,806	918	13	80.5
Utah	1,036	879	13	394	729	15	641	1,016	18	71.8
Vermont	233	901	19	105	821	25	128	954	24	86.1
Virginia	3,276	948	15	1,464	851	21	1,812	1,069	35	79.6
Washington	2,685	1,019	20	1,114	860	29	1,571	1,140	21	75.4
West Virginia	575	771	15	259	662	16	316	879	24	75.3
Wisconsin	2,101	892	14	933	795	20	1,168	985	19	80.7
Wyoming	190	880	17	77	708	16	112	1,044	35	67.8
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.