Families depend on women’s wages more than ever, but a woman working full time, year round is typically paid less than a man working full time, year round. These disparities exist in every state. However, as indicated in the map below, the size of the disparity varies by state. Additionally, women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers — and full time, year round work at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour leaves a woman with two children thousands of dollars below the poverty line. Working to close the wage gap and increasing the minimum wage are key steps towards fair pay for women.
Click on a state below to see its wage gap for women overall, Black women, Latinas, Asian women, Native women, white, non-Hispanic women, as well as the state’s minimum wage.
Source Note: What a woman makes for every dollar a man makes” is the ratio of women’s and men’s annual median earnings for full time, year round workers. The “wage gap” is the additional money a woman would have to make for every dollar made by a man in order to have equal annual earnings. Overall figures calculated by NWLC are based on 2016 American Community Survey Data. Figures for Black women, Latinas, Asian women, Native women, and white-non-Hispanic women calculated by NWLC are based on 2011-2015 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates. For the purposes of this analysis D.C. is considered a state. State minimum wages from Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “Minimum Wage Laws in the States – July 1, 2017.” Minimum cash wages for tipped workers are often lower.