Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States
United States: Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings was 18.1% in 2016. ▼ Falling
Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States, 1973–2016
Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2016, unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States stood at 18.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.2% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States peaked at 39.1% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 2014.
United States ranks 7th of 29 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 38.1% | — |
| 1974 | 39.1% | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 37.6% | -3.8% |
| 1976 | 37.8% | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 38.2% | +1.1% |
| 1978 | 39.0% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 37.6% | -3.6% |
| 1980 | 36.6% | -2.7% |
| 1981 | 35.2% | -3.8% |
| 1982 | 34.7% | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 34.3% | -1.2% |
| 1984 | 33.4% | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 33.0% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 32.2% | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 31.0% | -3.7% |
| 1988 | 30.1% | -2.9% |
| 1989 | 29.4% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 28.5% | -3.1% |
| 1991 | 26.6% | -6.7% |
| 1992 | 25.1% | -5.6% |
| 1993 | 23.9% | -4.8% |
| 1994 | 23.9% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 24.6% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 23.8% | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 23.8% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 23.7% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 23.5% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 23.1% | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 23.6% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 22.1% | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 20.6% | -6.8% |
| 2004 | 19.6% | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 19.0% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 19.2% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 19.8% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 20.1% | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 19.8% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 17.8% | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 19.1% | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 17.9% | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 17.5% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 18.9% | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 18.1% | -4.2% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 18.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 14.4%, 1.3× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 38.2% | 37.6% | 39.1% | 7 |
| 1980s | 33.0% | 29.4% | 36.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.7% | 23.5% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.7% | 19.0% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.3% | 17.5% | 19.1% | 7 |
Countries ranked near United States
More work & labour data for United States
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.4 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.05 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States?
- Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in United States was 18.1% in 2016, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 39.1% in 1974.
- What is the lowest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 2014.
- How does United States rank for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings?
- United States ranks 7th out of 29 countries with data for 2016.
- Is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men. Estimates refer to full-time employees and to self-employed workers.