Quick answer
The headline gender pay gap statistics come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census Bureau. In the third quarter of 2026, women working full time earned a median $1,127 a week, 83.4% of men's $1,352. On an annual basis, women's median full-time, year-round earnings were 83.9% of men's in 2025. The gap has narrowed from 62.3% in 1979 but has moved slowly for two decades.
Gender pay gap statistics measure how much women earn compared with men, and the most current figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In its Usual Weekly Earnings release of October 21, 2026, BLS reported that women working full time had median weekly earnings of $1,127 in the third quarter of 2026, or 83.4% of the $1,352 median for men. That is about 83 cents on the dollar, or $225 a week (Workzenly calculation). The Census Bureau's annual measure for 2025 is close, at 83.9%. These are raw gaps: they compare all women with all men and do not adjust for job, hours or experience. Every figure below links to the agency or researcher that published it.
The gender pay gap in 2026: weekly earnings
BLS publishes earnings by sex every quarter from the Current Population Survey. All figures cover full-time wage and salary workers (35 or more hours a week) and exclude the self-employed.
- $1,127 vs $1,352. Women's and men's median weekly earnings in Q3 2026, not seasonally adjusted. The ratio was 83.4%.
- $11,700 a year. The $225 weekly gap over 52 weeks (Workzenly calculation, not a BLS figure).
- 83.5% seasonally adjusted. On BLS's seasonally adjusted series, women earned $1,135 and men $1,359 in Q3 2026, up from 80.9% ($1,082 vs $1,338) in Q3 2025 (Workzenly calculation from BLS Table 1).
- 55.1 million women and 66.3 million men worked full time for wages or salary in Q3 2026 (seasonally adjusted).
- No Q4 2025 data. BLS notes October 2025 data "were not collected due to the federal government shutdown," so there is no estimate for that quarter.
What this means for employers: The national gap is a starting point, not a diagnosis. The useful number is your own: median pay for women and men in the same role and location. If you run payroll by role and pay rate, you can produce that comparison in an afternoon.
Annual, hourly and controlled measures of the gender wage gap
Different sources give different numbers because they measure different things. None is wrong; each answers a slightly different question.
| Source and measure | Period | Women's pay as % of men's |
|---|---|---|
| BLS, median weekly earnings, full-time wage and salary workers | Q3 2026 | 83.4% |
| BLS, median weekly earnings, full-time (annual average) | 2024 | 82.7% |
| BLS, median hourly earnings, workers paid by the hour | 2024 | 91% |
| Census CPS ASEC, median annual earnings, full-time, year-round | 2025 | 83.9% |
| Census ACS, median annual earnings, full-time, year-round | 2024 | 83% |
| Pew Research Center, median hourly earnings, full- and part-time | 2025 | 86% |
Sources: BLS Usual Weekly Earnings (October 21, 2026); BLS Highlights of women's earnings in 2024 (January 2026); Census, Income in the United States: 2025 (September 15, 2026); Census Equal Pay Day story (March 2026); Pew Research Center (October 22, 2026).
- Annual earnings, 2025. The Census Bureau reported median earnings of $60,760 for women and $72,380 for men working full time, year-round. The ratio rose to 83.9% from 80.6% in 2024. Census says the increase "follows 2 years of statistically significant declines" and "marks the first significant year-over-year increase in the ratio since 2016."
- What drove it. Women's median earnings rose 3.2%, while men's "did not change significantly" (Census).
- Hourly workers. Among workers paid by the hour, women's median of $19.20 was 91% of men's $21.06 in 2024 (BLS).
- All workers, all hours. Pew Research Center found women earned about 86 cents for every dollar men earned in 2025, based on median hourly earnings of full- and part-time workers. Pew put the figure at 85% in 2024 and 81% in 2003.
Raw vs controlled gap. Every figure above is a raw (unadjusted) gap. A controlled gap compares women and men with the same job, hours, experience and education, and it is smaller. In their review in the Journal of Economic Literature, economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn found that "by 2010, conventional human capital variables taken together explained little of the gender wage gap," while occupation and industry still explained a large part (NBER Working Paper 21913). A smaller controlled gap does not mean the raw gap is unimportant: who ends up in which job is part of the story.
What this means for employers: When you review pay, look at both. A raw gap in your company tells you where women sit in your pay structure. A gap between women and men in the same role, level and location is the one that can raise an equal pay claim. Classify roles consistently first; our guide to exempt vs non-exempt employees covers the FLSA side.
Gender wage gap by age and parenthood
The gap is smallest for young workers and widens through the working years. BLS figures are 2024 annual averages for full-time wage and salary workers.
- Young workers. In Q3 2026, women aged 16 to 24 had median weekly earnings of $720 and men $813, the lowest of any age group for both (BLS).
- The mid-career turn. Pew tracked one group: women aged 25 to 34 in 2015 earned 90% of what men the same age earned; by 2025 the same women earned 85%. Pew says the gap is "explained, at least in part, by family caregiving responsibilities."
- Mothers and fathers. In 2024, mothers of children under 18 working full time had median weekly earnings of $1,090; fathers had $1,469 (BLS). Mothers earned about 74% of fathers' pay (Workzenly calculation).
- Career effect. 52% of full-time working mothers say being a parent makes it harder to advance at work, against 38% of full-time working fathers (Pew, 2026).
What this means for employers: The gap opens in the years when workers start families. Predictable schedules and clear leave policies help keep experienced people. Know your obligations under FMLA leave and how your maternity leave policy compares.
Pay gap by race and ethnicity
The gap between women and men differs within each racial and ethnic group, and the gap against white men is wider still. Figures are BLS medians for full-time workers in Q3 2026.
| Group (Q3 2026) | Women's median weekly | Men's median weekly | Women as % of men, same group | Women as % of white men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All workers | $1,127 | $1,352 | 83.4% | n/a |
| White | $1,137 | $1,394 | 81.6% | 81.6% |
| Black | $994 | $1,040 | 95.6% | 71.3% |
| Asian | $1,506 | $1,841 | 81.8% | 108.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino | $919 | $1,028 | 89.4% | 65.9% |
Source: BLS, Usual Weekly Earnings, third quarter 2026, not seasonally adjusted. The all-workers ratio is published by BLS; the group ratios are Workzenly calculations from the BLS medians. Hispanic workers may be of any race.
- Hispanic women had the lowest median of any group shown, $919 a week, about 66% of white men's earnings (Workzenly calculation).
- Black women earned 95.6% of Black men's pay but about 71% of white men's.
- The 2024 annual pattern was similar: ratios of 82.4% (white), 92.0% (Black), 79.1% (Asian) and 86.4% (Hispanic), per BLS.
What this means for employers: A pay review that checks only sex can miss a gap that shows up by sex and race together. Federal law covers both, so run your comparison both ways.
Women's earnings statistics by job and education
Occupation explains much of the raw gap, but the gap shows up inside occupations too. From the BLS Q3 2026 release and the 2024 annual report:
- Management and professional jobs paid the most: $1,910 a week for men and $1,493 for women in Q3 2026, a ratio of about 78% (Workzenly calculation).
- Service occupations paid the least: $876 for men and $760 for women, about 87% (Workzenly calculation).
- Where women work. In 2024, 33% of women worked in professional and related occupations against 22% of men; women and men were equally likely to work in management (13% each).
- Widest occupation gaps, 2024: securities, commodities and financial services sales agents (53.1%), credit counselors and loan officers (53.9%) and personal financial advisors (63.3%).
- Where women out-earned men: producers and directors (128.0%) and educational, guidance and career counselors (105.9%). Pharmacy technicians were near parity (100.5%).
- Construction and production. Using 2024 Census American Community Survey data, the Census Bureau put women's earnings at 74.1% of men's in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations and 74.9% in production, transportation and material moving.
By education (2024, workers 25 and over). A degree raises pay for both sexes but does not close the gap. BLS ratios were 84.1% for workers without a high school diploma, 77.9% for high school graduates, 76.2% for some college or an associate degree and 77.6% for a bachelor's degree or higher. Since 1979, inflation-adjusted earnings of women with a bachelor's degree or higher rose 38%, against 19% for men.
What this means for employers: If your workforce is split by sex across roles, your average gap can look large even when pay within each role is equal, or small while a gap hides inside one role. Compare by role, and publish ranges in job ads with a clear offer letter that states the rate.
Pay gap by state
State figures come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which is large enough to estimate each state. The table uses America's Health Rankings, a United Health Foundation program, which publishes the 2024 ACS 1-year ratio for full-time, year-round workers aged 16 and older. The U.S. value on this measure is 83.0%.
| Smallest gaps (2024) | Women as % of men | Largest gaps (2024) | Women as % of men |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 91.4% | Louisiana | 72.6% |
| Vermont | 90.7% | Utah | 73.4% |
| California | 88.6% | Idaho | 75.4% |
| Maryland | 88.6% | West Virginia | 76.2% |
| Massachusetts | 88.3% | Alabama | 76.7% |
| Delaware | 87.8% | North Dakota | 77.9% |
| Maine | 86.5% | Wyoming | 78.4% |
| Oregon | 85.8% | Michigan | 79.1% |
Source: America's Health Rankings, Gender Pay Gap, from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 1-year data, 2024. The District of Columbia (86.7%) is listed but not ranked. State estimates have sampling error, so small differences between states may not be meaningful.
- Large states: California 88.6%, Florida 84.0%, Illinois 83.7%, Pennsylvania 82.1%, Texas 81.5% and Ohio 79.3%.
- Pay transparency overlap. Of the 14 states with pay range posting laws in Workzenly's pay transparency laws by state guide (as of November 12, 2026), six are among the eight smallest-gap states above: New York, Vermont, California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Maine. This shows overlap, not cause; many of these states also have high shares of professional jobs.
What this means for employers: If you hire in a pay transparency state, every posted range is public and comparable. Set ranges by role, pay new hires inside them, and check current staff against the same range before you post. The hiring statistics page shows how tight the market is for new hires.
The gender wage gap over time
BLS has published women's earnings as a share of men's for full-time workers every year since 1979.
- Fast gains, then a plateau. The ratio rose about 15 points from 1979 to 2000 and about 6 points from 2000 to 2024 (Workzenly calculation). It first reached 81.0% in 2005.
- Recent peak. The BLS annual ratio was 83.6% in 2023 before slipping to 82.7% in 2024.
- Census confirms the pattern. Its annual ratio fell for two years to 80.6% in 2024, then rose to 83.9% in 2025.
- Pew's hourly measure moved from 81% in 2003 to 85% in 2024, a 4-point change in about two decades.
What this means for employers: The national gap will not close on its own at the current pace. Most of the remaining change happens one pay decision at a time: starting offers, raises and promotions.
Equal pay statistics and complaints
The federal Equal Pay Act requires that "men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work." The EEOC says the jobs "need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal," and that the law covers "all forms of pay," including overtime and bonuses. Title VII also bars sex discrimination in pay.
- 928 Equal Pay Act charges were filed in fiscal year 2025, down from 1,116 in fiscal 2024.
- The EEOC resolved 1,261 charges in fiscal 2025. 281 were merit resolutions (22.3%), meaning an outcome favorable to the person who filed, and 63 ended in a reasonable cause finding.
- Monetary benefits reached $14.4 million in fiscal 2025, up from $9.2 million in fiscal 2024. These exclude money obtained through litigation.
- The counts exclude charges filed only with state or local fair employment agencies, so they understate total equal pay complaints.
What this means for employers: Pay records are your evidence. Keep the reason for each starting rate and raise, such as experience, shift or a documented performance rating, and apply it the same way to everyone. Written performance reviews help when merit is the reason. Our salary to hourly calculator helps you compare salaried and hourly roles on the same basis.
About this data
These gender pay gap statistics come from BLS, the Census Bureau, Pew Research Center, the EEOC and peer-reviewed research. BLS publishes Usual Weekly Earnings each quarter (the latest, for Q3 2026, came out October 21, 2026) and its Highlights of women's earnings report each year (the 2024 edition, Report 1117, in January 2026). Census publishes annual earnings in its income report each September (the 2025 data came out September 15, 2026) and state data from the American Community Survey each fall. The EEOC updates its enforcement tables once a year. State figures are taken from America's Health Rankings, which republishes the Census ACS ratio.
All are raw gaps that compare medians for women and men. BLS and Census cover full-time workers; Pew includes part-time workers. Figures are copied as published; where we compute a ratio, gap or difference, the text says "Workzenly calculation." We review this page when new releases come out. Journalists, students and bloggers are welcome to cite it with a link to this page.
More workforce statistics: Women in the workforce statistics · Average hourly wage · Minimum wage statistics · Union membership statistics.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers, Third Quarter 2026 (released October 21, 2026). bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings Table 1, seasonally adjusted quarterly medians by sex. bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.t01.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Highlights of women's earnings in 2024 (Report 1117, January 2026). bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2024/home.htm
- U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289, September 15, 2026), Melissa Kollar and Zach Scherer. census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p60-289.html
- U.S. Census Bureau, Equal Pay Day: March 26, 2026 (2024 American Community Survey data). census.gov/newsroom/stories/equal-pay-day.html
- America's Health Rankings (United Health Foundation), Gender Pay Gap by state, from Census American Community Survey 1-year data, 2024. americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/GenderPayGap
- Pew Research Center, Women, Work and Caregiving Through the Arc of Family Life (October 22, 2026). pewresearch.org
- Pew Research Center, Gender pay gap in U.S. has narrowed slightly over 2 decades (March 4, 2025). pewresearch.org
- Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations, NBER Working Paper 21913 (January 2016); Journal of Economic Literature 55(3), 2017. nber.org/papers/w21913
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Table E3a, Equal Pay Act Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type of Resolution, FY 1997 to FY 2025. eeoc.gov/data/enforcement-and-litigation-statistics-0
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Equal Pay/Compensation Discrimination. eeoc.gov/equal-paycompensation-discrimination
- State pay range posting laws as of November 12, 2026, compiled in Workzenly, Pay transparency laws by state. workzenly.com/blog/pay-transparency-laws-by-state/
Frequently asked questions
What is the gender pay gap in the US in 2026?
In the third quarter of 2026, women working full time had median weekly earnings of $1,127, or 83.4% of the $1,352 median for men, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of October 21, 2026. Put another way, women earned about 83 cents for every dollar men earned, a gap of $225 a week.
How much less do women make than men per year?
The Census Bureau reported on September 15, 2026 that in 2025 women working full time, year-round had median earnings of $60,760, against $72,380 for men. That is a female-to-male ratio of 83.9% and a difference of $11,620 a year. The ratio rose from 80.6% in 2024.
Is the gender pay gap getting smaller?
Over the long run, yes. BLS data show women's weekly earnings rose from 62.3% of men's in 1979 to 82.7% in 2024. Progress has been slow since the mid-2000s, when the ratio first reached 81%. The Census annual ratio rose to 83.9% in 2025, its first significant yearly increase since 2016.
Why do different sources give different pay gap numbers?
They measure different things. BLS uses weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers (83.4% in Q3 2026). Census uses annual earnings of full-time, year-round workers (83.9% in 2025). Pew Research Center uses hourly earnings of full- and part-time workers (86% in 2025). None of these raw figures controls for job, hours or experience.
Which state has the smallest gender pay gap?
New York, where women working full time, year-round earned 91.4% of men's median earnings in 2024, according to America's Health Rankings using Census American Community Survey data. Vermont (90.7%) was next. Louisiana had the largest gap at 72.6%, followed by Utah at 73.4%. The national figure was 83.0%.
How many equal pay complaints are filed each year?
The EEOC received 928 charges under the Equal Pay Act in fiscal year 2025, down from 1,116 in fiscal 2024, according to its enforcement table E3a. It resolved 1,261 charges and obtained $14.4 million in monetary benefits outside litigation. State and local agency charges are not included.