Gender Pay Gap Data Explained

Women have made remarkable strides in education during the past three decades, but these gains have yet to translate into full equity in pay — even for college-educated women who work full time. For the entire full-time workforce, a typical woman earned $35,745 compared with $46,367 for a typical man, a pay difference of $10,622.

Overview

AAUW's new state-by-state comparison looks at the college-educated population 25 and older and at the general population. Across the board, people with college degrees earn higher salaries. However, the gender wage gap is actually larger among college-educated workers than it is for the workforce as a whole. In other words, education improves women's earnings, but it does not ensure fair wages.

The data presented in the map provide a snapshot of the pay gap between male and female workers who work full time, year round.

Methodology

The map displays earnings, the pay gap, and rankings using the latest data (2008) from the American Community Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau every year.

For each state, the following items are displayed: men's earnings, women's earnings, the ratio of women's to men's earnings, and a ranking of the state's earnings ratio. Earnings are presented for two populations: the workforce age 16 and older and the college-educated workforce age 25 and older.

The analysis of the entire workforce includes all workers who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the past 12 months.

The analysis of the college educated workforce includes workers who worked 35 hours or more per week at least 48 weeks in the past year except for teachers who were included as year-round if they worked 40 weeks or more in the year. Median earnings for male and female full-time college-educated workers were calculated using data from the 2008 public use micro-sample (PUMS) of the American Community Survey (ACS). The PUMS was used so that the gender wage gap between male and female college educated workers could be examined separately from the rest of the work force.

Data presented in the map display earnings for the median male or female worker, meaning that the earnings are in the middle of the distribution for that population. For example, when we say that a full-time, year-round female worker in the United States in 2008 reported earnings of $50,600, it means that half of the full-time, year-round female workers earned less than this amount, and half of the full-time, year-round female workers earned more than this amount.

For the 2008 American Community Survey, workers reported earnings made in 2007. "College educated" refers to the population that holds a degree from a four-year college or more; i.e., associate degrees are not included in this definition.

The map displays rankings for all states and the District of Columbia. The highest ranking represents the smallest difference in earnings between women and men, and the lowest ranking (51) represents the largest difference in the earnings of women and men.

Acknowledgement

Data for the college-educated workforce compiled and analyzed for AAUW by JSI Associates. For more information about JSI Associates, visit www.jobsearchintelligence.com.