In 2012, Colorado women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $750 or 78.3 percent of the $958 median weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the 2012 women’s to men’s earnings ratio in Colorado declined 1.3 percentage points from 2011. Nationwide, women earned $691 or 80.9 percent of the $854 median for men. (See table 1. Earnings in this report do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences.)

In Colorado, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings recorded a low of 74.6 percent in 1997. The ratio rose above 80 percent in 2002 and remained there through 2007, but has dipped below that mark in four of the most recent five years. (See chart 1.)

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2012 ranged from $566 in Montana to $868 in Connecticut. States with the highest wages for women were located along the Eastern Seaboard. In addition to Connecticut, women’s earnings in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey were also above $800 per week. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Across the nation, median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $717 and highest in Connecticut at $1,127. Four of the five highest paying states for full-time male workers (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland) were located along the Eastern Seaboard. The sole exception was on the West Coast—Alaska. (See table 1.)  

The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2012 varied across the nation, ranging from 65.5 percent in Wyoming to 86.8 percent in Arizona. (See table 1.) Two other states recorded ratios above 85.0 percent—California at 86.0 percent and Maryland at 85.2 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and in the age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, comparisons by sex are on a broad level and do not control for factors such as educational attainment which can be significant in explaining earnings differences.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1045, Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012, issued in October 2013; copies are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2012.pdf. Information in this release is also available to sensory impaired individuals. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Technical Note

The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides a wide range of information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a national sample of about 60,000 households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among data for the states reflect, in part, variations in the occupation, industry, and age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data.

The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series in this release are described below.

Usual weekly earnings. 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.)

Median weekly earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median.

Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time worker. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job.

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state and sex, 2012 annual averages

State	Both sexes			Women			Men			Women's earnings as a percent of men's
	Number of workers (thousands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median	Number of workers (thousands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median	Number of workers (thousands)	Median weekly earnings	Standard error of median
United States	102,749	768.0	2.0	45,462	691.0	3.0	57,286	854.0	4.0	80.9
Alabama	1,522	724.0	14.0	683.0	620.0	15.0	839.0	812.0	27.0	76.4
Alaska	248.0	888.0	16.0	110.0	757.0	14.0	138.0	1,025	27.0	73.9
Arizona	1,969	732.0	9.0	878.0	670.0	14.0	1,090	772.0	18.0	86.8
Arkansas	971.0	651.0	15.0	438.0	603.0	10.0	534.0	717.0	21.0	84.1
California	11,570	820.0	10.0	4,890	754.0	9.0	6,680	877.0	12.0	86.0
Colorado	1,714	850.0	18.0	725.0	750.0	15.0	989.0	958.0	24.0	78.3
Connecticut	1,178	988.0	22.0	519.0	868.0	29.0	659.0	1,127	40.0	77.0
Delaware	309.0	807.0	20.0	146.0	737.0	20.0	163.0	888.0	36.0	83.0
District of Columbia	276.0	1,102	37.0	138.0	1,072	43.0	138.0	1,131	38.0	94.8
Florida	6,299	735.0	6.0	2,992	676.0	9.0	3,307	796.0	13.0	84.9
Georgia	3,287	737.0	13.0	1,503	640.0	17.0	1,784	838.0	26.0	76.4
Hawaii	430.0	753.0	14.0	192.0	689.0	16.0	238.0	839.0	35.0	82.1
Idaho	478.0	706.0	13.0	187.0	614.0	11.0	291.0	785.0	15.0	78.2
Illinois	4,368	809.0	11.0	1,958	708.0	13.0	2,411	895.0	16.0	79.1
Indiana	2,158	716.0	14.0	936.0	632.0	16.0	1,221	809.0	19.0	78.1
Iowa	1,096	744.0	14.0	491.0	654.0	17.0	605.0	823.0	20.0	79.5
Kansas	988.0	738.0	14.0	428.0	649.0	14.0	560.0	825.0	22.0	78.7
Kentucky	1,414	663.0	12.0	644.0	596.0	13.0	770.0	733.0	18.0	81.3
Louisiana	1,449	676.0	18.0	637.0	573.0	17.0	812.0	796.0	20.0	72.0
Maine	423.0	741.0	13.0	191.0	654.0	25.0	232.0	823.0	25.0	79.5
Maryland	2,198	921.0	20.0	1,056	842.0	23.0	1,141	988.0	27.0	85.2
Massachusetts	2,167	935.0	12.0	980.0	840.0	19.0	1,187	1,040	28.0	80.8
Michigan	2,876	783.0	14.0	1,237	687.0	18.0	1,639	889.0	20.0	77.3
Minnesota	1,897	865.0	15.0	816.0	779.0	23.0	1,081	948.0	24.0	82.2
Mississippi	922.0	677.0	14.0	413.0	582.0	19.0	509.0	776.0	23.0	75.0
Missouri	2,013	750.0	18.0	913.0	660.0	19.0	1,099	841.0	30.0	78.5
Montana	293.0	658.0	21.0	137.0	566.0	18.0	156.0	733.0	23.0	77.2
Nebraska	680.0	728.0	14.0	312.0	663.0	17.0	369.0	787.0	21.0	84.2
Nevada	897.0	690.0	11.0	399.0	620.0	10.0	497.0	768.0	19.0	80.7
New Hampshire	478.0	883.0	21.0	214.0	772.0	24.0	264.0	975.0	29.0	79.2
New Jersey	3,142	935.0	13.0	1,425	818.0	26.0	1,717	1,030	25.0	79.4
New Mexico	614.0	737.0	17.0	274.0	645.0	25.0	340.0	802.0	22.0	80.4
New York	6,513	819.0	10.0	2,951	746.0	9.0	3,562	900.0	14.0	82.9
North Carolina	3,124	727.0	10.0	1,392	641.0	13.0	1,732	792.0	13.0	80.9
North Dakota	266.0	735.0	12.0	116.0	651.0	12.0	149.0	834.0	23.0	78.1
Ohio	3,662	739.0	9.0	1,589	664.0	10.0	2,073	802.0	15.0	82.8
Oklahoma	1,299	695.0	11.0	570.0	631.0	15.0	729.0	760.0	16.0	83.0
Oregon	1,144	823.0	19.0	480.0	756.0	17.0	664.0	901.0	28.0	83.9
Pennsylvania	4,320	774.0	8.0	1,898	694.0	11.0	2,423	849.0	13.0	81.7
Rhode Island	342.0	796.0	21.0	158.0	733.0	23.0	184.0	886.0	42.0	82.7
South Carolina	1,462	669.0	15.0	677.0	603.0	17.0	785.0	724.0	18.0	83.3
South Dakota	282.0	664.0	10.0	129.0	604.0	9.0	153.0	737.0	16.0	82.0
Tennessee	2,125	675.0	12.0	922.0	611.0	12.0	1,203	740.0	15.0	82.6
Texas	8,904	718.0	7.0	3,852	633.0	9.0	5,051	795.0	15.0	79.6
Utah	879.0	760.0	14.0	326.0	661.0	18.0	552.0	870.0	25.0	76.0
Vermont	216.0	767.0	16.0	96.0	692.0	19.0	120.0	859.0	29.0	80.6
Virginia	2,974	846.0	17.0	1,335	756.0	21.0	1,640	951.0	24.0	79.5
Washington	2,204	870.0	21.0	935.0	746.0	20.0	1,269	982.0	28.0	76.0
West Virginia	574.0	740.0	14.0	257.0	614.0	14.0	317.0	846.0	28.0	72.6
Wisconsin	1,929	783.0	16.0	833.0	696.0	25.0	1,095	863.0	20.0	80.6
Wyoming	207.0	808.0	17.0	81.0	645.0	22.0	126.0	984.0	19.0	65.5
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.