Families depend on women’s wages more than ever, but in every state in the U.S., women working full time, year round are still typically paid less than men working full–time, year–round.
Nationally, in 2021, women of all races working full time, year round typically make only 84 cents for every dollar men of all races make, and the size of the disparity varies by state. Women overall fare best in Vermont, where women working full time, year round typically make 93 cents for every dollar men make. Alaska and New York follow with the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings at 89 percent. Women fare worst relative to men in Wyoming and Louisiana, where women’s earnings represented only 68 and 73 percent of men’s earnings, respectively.
However, the wage gap for full-time, year-round workers doesn’t fully reflect the economic disparities faced by women. The full-time, year-round wage gap leaves out those who were unemployed or out of the labor force for part of 2021, or who worked part time, including those who wanted full-time work. This is especially significant given that the labor market shifted dramatically in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and its effects continued in 2021. When part-time and part-year workers are included in the comparison, women were typically paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2021.
Click on a state below to see wage gaps for women overall; Black women; Latinas; Asian women; Native women; white, non-Hispanic women; and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander women.
