This year, March 12 marks Equal Pay Day—a day to draw awareness to the wage gap between women and men. In 2022, the most recent data available for full-time, year-round workers (2023 data will be out in September), the gender earnings ratio was 84.0 percent, meaning women, on average, were paid 16 cents less for every dollar earned by men. Said another way, women had to work 62 weeks to be paid what men were paid in just 52 weeks. When all workers were included (whether working full-time, part-time, full-year, or part-year), the ratio was 78.3 percent—21.7 cents less on the dollar. This gap in wages persists year after year and leaves women and their families with less money now and less money to invest in their retirement security and wealth for the future.
Women were paid less than men in every single state, but some states were worse than others. In 2022, the worst state for women was Utah, where women who worked full-time year-round on average were paid just 70.3 cents per dollar paid to men (a gender wage gap of 29.7 percent). Vermont, on the other hand, had the highest ranking, with a gender earnings ratio of 91.7 percent (a gender wage gap of 8.3 percent). Hover over Map 1 below to get the earnings, the earnings ratio, and the state’s rank for full-time, year-round (FTYR) workers.
Source: IWPR analysis of Steven Ruggles et al., “2022 American Community Survey 1-year estimates,” Data set (IPUMS USA, 2023), https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V14.0.
Notes: Workers 15 years and older. N/A indicates insufficient sample size. Full-time is at least 35 hours per week; full-year is at least 50 weeks per year.
Utah was also the worst state for all workers with earnings (including part-time and part-year workers). It had a gender earnings ratio of 60.4 percent (a gender wage gap of 39.6 percent). It is particularly hard for women in Utah to work full-time, especially when they have kids at home. New Mexico had the highest ranking, with a gender earnings ratio of 85.0 percent (a gender wage gap of 15.0 percent). Hover over Map 2 below to get the earnings, the earnings ratio, and the state’s rank for all workers with earnings.
Source: IWPR analysis of Steven Ruggles et al., “2022 American Community Survey 1-year estimates” (IPUMS USA, 2023), https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V14.0.
Notes: Workers 15 years and older. N/A indicates insufficient sample size.
IWPR’s previous research shows substantial gender racial wage gaps in each state. Whether looking at earnings for Black women, Hispanic/Latina women, or Native American women, wage gaps compared to what White, non-Hispanic men made are substantial.
Last but not least, our data also show a large wage gap for mothers compared to fathers. Because many women are also the primary caregivers in the home, it is imperative that child care and elder care increases in accessibility so that women can have more time for paid work. Women cannot wait hundreds of years to reach pay equity—they need it now.
