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Highlights of women's earnings in 2022

In 2022, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings that were 83 percent of those of male full-time wage and salary workers. In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women’s earnings were 62 percent of men’s earnings. Most of the growth in women’s earnings relative to men’s occurred in the 1980s (when the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio went from 64 percent to 70 percent) and from 1990 to 2003 (when the ratio went from 72 percent to 79 percent). Since 2004, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has remained in the 80 to 83 percent range. (See chart 1 and tables 1 and 12.)

This report presents earnings data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The weekly and hourly earnings estimates in this report reflect information collected from one-fourth of the households in the monthly survey and averaged for the calendar year. The data in this report are distinct from the annual earnings estimates for full-time, year-round workers collected separately in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the CPS and published by the U.S. Census Bureau. (See the Current Population Survey’s frequently asked questions page for an explanation of the differences in these datasets.)

The earnings comparisons in this report are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be important in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization. The earnings estimates referenced throughout this report are medians. The median is the mid-point in the earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median level and half having earnings below.

For more information, see the accompanying technical notes section, including a description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report.

Earnings of full-time workers

This report highlights data for women and men who usually work full time (35 hours or more per week) in wage and salary jobs, with sections focusing on characteristics such as age, race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, education, occupation, and more.

Earnings by age group

In 2022, median weekly earnings were $958 for all women age 16 and older. For men age 16 and older, median weekly earnings were $1,154. Women’s median weekly earnings were highest for those ages 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, with earnings of $1,065 and $1,058, respectively. Women ages 55 to 64 had earnings that were slightly lower, at $1,007. For men, earnings were highest for those ages 45 to 54, with earnings of $1,336. Men ages 35 to 44 and ages 55 to 64 had earnings that were slightly lower, at $1,297 and $1,294, respectively. Young women and men ages 16 to 24 had the lowest earnings ($656 and $713, respectively). (See chart 2 and table 1.)

Among workers age 35 and older, women earned between 73 percent and 82 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2022. Women ages 25 to 34 earned 90 percent of what men earned, while women ages 16 to 24 earned 92 percent of what men earned. The earnings difference between men and women has historically been smaller for those under age 35 than for those in older age groups. (See tables 1 and 12.)

Women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios have increased substantially for most age groups since 1979. For young workers ages 16 to 24, the gains primarily occurred in the 1980s, but the ratio has changed little, on net, since then. For workers age 25 and over, the gains in the 1980s flattened out in the early 1990s, then trended up in the late 1990s and 2000s. The increase in the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio for this age group has tapered off in recent years. (See table 12.)

Earnings by race and ethnicity

Asian women and men earned more than their White, Black, and Hispanic counterparts in 2022. Among women, Whites ($973) earned 79 percent as much as Asians ($1,234), Blacks ($835) earned 68 percent as much, and Hispanics ($761) earned 62 percent. Among men, these earnings differences were even larger: White men ($1,172) earned 75 percent as much as Asian men ($1,559), Black men ($921) earned 59 percent as much, and Hispanic men ($887) earned 57 percent. (See chart 3 and table 1.)

Earnings differences between women and men were largest among Asians and Whites. Asian women earned 79 percent as much as Asian men and White women earned 83 percent as much as White men. In comparison, Black women had median earnings that were 91 percent of Black men’s, and Hispanic women’s earnings were 86 percent of Hispanic men’s. (See table 1.)

Women’s earnings have increased considerably since 1979 (the first year for which comparable data for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics are available), with White women experiencing the greatest earnings growth. From 1979 to 2022, inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings (also called constant-dollar earnings) increased by 40 percent for White women and by 31 percent and 29 percent for Black and Hispanic women, respectively. Although data for Asians are not available before 2000, it is worth noting that inflation-adjusted earnings for Asian women increased by 32 percent between 2000 and 2022. (See table 18.)

After sharp increases in constant-dollar earnings for White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic women from 2019 to 2020, earnings declined from 2020 to 2022. This decline in earnings emerged as the economy experienced major changes tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, including the impacts of high inflation.

The large increases in constant-dollar median weekly earnings in 2020 were mainly due to steep job losses among lower-paid workers with the onset of the pandemic, which put upward pressure on (nominal) median weekly earnings. Subsequent increases in nominal earnings in 2021 and 2022 reflected, at least in part, the labor market’s recovery from the pandemic. At the same time, the inflation rate saw rapid change: from modest price changes in 2020 to large price increases in 2021 and 2022. Taking both rapidly evolving labor market conditions and inflation into account, constant-dollar earnings for White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic women were higher in 2022 than their pre-pandemic (2019) levels. (See table 18.)

The long-term trend in men’s earnings has been quite different than that for women. Inflation-adjusted earnings for White and Black men trended down from 1979 through the early 1990s, followed by a period of growth that stalled in the early 2000s. For Hispanic men, earnings also declined from 1979 through the mid-1990s, then began to trend upwards. Over the full period, 1979 through 2022, inflation-adjusted earnings among men have seen a net increase for Whites (4 percent), Blacks (7 percent), and Hispanics (7 percent). Over the shorter 2000–22 period for which earnings data on Asians are available, earnings for Asian men grew by 33 percent. In general, women and men’s weekly earnings were similarly impacted by inflation and the pandemic. (See table 18.)

Earnings by educational attainment

Median weekly earnings vary significantly by educational attainment. Among all workers age 25 and older, the weekly earnings of those without a high school diploma ($682) were 44 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree and higher ($1,544) in 2022. For workers with a high school diploma who had not attended college, median earnings ($853) were 55 percent of the median earnings of workers with a bachelor’s degree and higher. Those with some college or an associate’s degree ($969) made 63 percent of what workers with a bachelor’s degree and higher made. (See table 1.)

In each educational attainment category, the long-term trend in inflation-adjusted earnings has been more favorable for women than for men. The inflation-adjusted earnings of women without a high school diploma increased by 3 percent between 1979 and 2022. By contrast, inflation-adjusted earnings for men without a high school diploma declined by 22 percent. For those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, since 1979, inflation-adjusted earnings for women have increased by 38 percent, while earnings for men have risen by 18 percent. (See chart 4 and table 19.)

Earnings by occupation

Women and men working full time in management, business, and financial operations occupations had higher median weekly earnings than workers in any other major occupational category in 2022 ($1,409 for women and $1,772 for men). Within this category, women who were chief executives ($2,277) and computer and information systems managers ($1,850) had the highest median weekly earnings. Among men, those who were chief executives ($2,908) and architectural and engineering managers ($2,777) earned the most. (See table 2.)

The second-highest paying occupational category for women and men was professional and related occupations ($1,229 for women and $1,647 for men). This is a broad occupational category, made up of several distinct job groupings for specialized fields, such as computer science and math, architecture and engineering, law, education, and healthcare. Within this diverse category, women who were other physicians ($2,283) (such as gastroenterologists, oncologists, and pulmonologists), lawyers ($2,169), nurse practitioners ($2,084), software developers ($2,076), and pharmacists ($2,068) had the highest median weekly earnings in 2022. For men, those who were other physicians ($2,892), lawyers ($2,687), pharmacists ($2,320), and software developers ($2,300) earned the most. (See table 2.)

Women and men employed in service occupations earned the least in 2022 ($643 for women and $767 for men). Within this category, women who were in the fast food and counter workers subcategory ($539) and food preparation workers subcategory ($574) had the lowest median weekly earnings. For men, those who were employed as fast food and counter workers ($587) and dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers ($600) earned the least.

Occupational distributions of women and men

The occupational distributions of female and male full-time workers differ considerably. Compared with men, relatively few women work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. In addition, compared with men, women are far more concentrated in office and administrative support jobs. Women are also more likely than men to work in professional and related occupations. (See chart 5 and table 2.)

In 2022, 32 percent of women worked in professional and related occupations, compared with 22 percent of men. Within the professional category, though, the proportion of women employed in the higher paying jobs is much smaller than the proportion of men employed in these types of jobs. In 2022, 12 percent of women in professional and related occupations were employed in the relatively high-paying computer and mathematical (median weekly earnings of $1,546 for women and $1,884 for men) and architecture and engineering ($1,593 for women and $1,751 for men) occupations, compared with 49 percent of men.

Sixty-five percent of women in professional occupations worked in education and healthcare jobs in 2022, compared with 28 percent of men. Women earned less than men in education ($1,089 for women and $1,354 for men) and healthcare ($1,277 for women and $1,605 for men) occupations. (See table 2.)

Across all occupational categories, the three most common jobs for women were elementary and middle school teacher ($1,151), registered nurse ($1,377), and secretary and administrative assistant ($820). Collectively, these occupations employed 6.2 million women in 2022, representing 12 percent of women in full-time wage and salary jobs.

Among men, the most common job by far was truck driver (driver/sales workers and truck drivers, $986). In 2022, 2.5 million, or 4 percent, of all male full-time wage and salary workers were truck drivers. Although engineering jobs are shown separately by specialty (civil, mechanical, etc.) in this report, if combined, engineer would be the second most common job for men. In 2022, a total of 2.1 million men were employed full time in the 16 designated engineering specialties (median weekly earnings ranging from $1,769 to $2,310). (See table 2.)

Earnings for those with and without children under 18

In 2022, one-third of full-time wage and salary workers were parents of children under age 18. (As defined here, “children” include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children under age 18 who live in the household.) Median weekly earnings for mothers of children under age 18 ($994) were higher than the earnings for women without children under 18 ($940). Earnings for fathers of children under age 18 ($1,316) were higher than the earnings for men without children under 18 ($1,088). (See table 7.) 

Earnings by state of residence

Median weekly earnings and women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios vary by state of residence. (In this report, “state” refers to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.) 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. Readers should note that sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates. (See the technical notes section for an explanation of sampling error.) Consequently, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution. Readers should also note that the state estimates are based on workers’ states of residence: a worker’s reported earnings are not necessarily from a job located in the same state. (See table 3.)

Weekly work hours of full-time workers

Among full-time workers (those usually working at a job 35 hours or more per week), men are more likely than women to work more than 40 hours per week. In 2022, 22 percent of men who usually work full time worked 41 or more hours per week, compared with 13 percent of women. Women were more likely than men to work 35 to 39 hours per week: 10 percent of women working full time worked such hours in 2022, while 4 percent of men did. A majority of both female (77 percent) and male (73 percent) full-time workers had a 40-hour workweek. Among these workers, women earned 87 percent as much as men. (This analysis excludes people who usually work 35 or more hours per week but whose hours vary.) (See table 5.)

Earnings of part-time workers

Women are more likely than men to work part time—that is, less than 35 hours per week on a sole or main job. Women who worked part time accounted for 21 percent of all female wage and salary workers in 2022. By comparison, 11 percent of men in wage and salary jobs worked part time. Median weekly earnings for female part-time workers were $347 in 2022, higher than the $328 median for men. (See tables 4 and 5.)

Part-time workers are more likely to be under age 25 than full-time workers. Among part-time workers, 32 percent of women and 43 percent of men were under age 25 in 2022. Among full-time workers, 9 percent were under age 25 for both men and women. (See tables 1 and 4.)

Earnings of workers paid by the hour

In 2022, 58 percent of women and 54 percent of men in wage and salary jobs were paid by the hour. Women who were paid hourly rates had median hourly earnings of $17.18, which were 87 percent of the $19.70 median for men. (See tables 8 and 11.)

Among workers who were paid hourly rates in 2022, 2 percent of women and 1 percent of men had hourly earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25. (See tables 10 and 11.) (See the technical notes section for information about BLS estimates of the number of minimum wage workers.)