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.
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
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 61.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 67.1% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 84.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 56.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 73.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 78.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 69.0% (2025)
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.