In 2020, New York women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $1,000 or 84.5% of the $1,183 median usual weekly earnings of their male counterparts, according to the US Bureau of Labor statistics.
Chief regional economist Martin Kohli said the 2020 women’s-to-men’s earning ratio of 84.5% compared to the 83.8% in 2019.
Nationwide, women earned $891 per week or 82.3% of the $1,082 median for men.
In New York, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has ranged from a low of 78.5% in 2000 to a high of 86.9% in 2015.
Data for the states began in 1997.
Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2020 ranged from $675 in Mississippi to $1,166 in Connecticut. Women’s earnings in five other states (Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Virginia) and the District of Columbia were at or above $1,000 per week.
Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Mississippi at $878 and highest in Massachusetts at $1,356.
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia had weekly wages above $1,000 for full-time male workers.
Connecticut had the highest women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio among the states, 97.0% and Utah had the lowest, 72.7%. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 85.6%.
Consequently, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution.
The estimates in this article were obtained from the current population survey, which provides information on the labor force, employment and unemployment.
The survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The survey data on earnings are based on one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers.
All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from the data presented in this report.
According to statusofwomendata.org: New York ranks sixth among the 50 states and District of Columbia on the Employment & Earnings Composite Index, earning the state a grade of B on this measure of women’s status.
New York ranks sixth for women’s median annual earnings, first for its ratio of women’s to men’s earnings, and ninth for its percentage of all employed women in managerial or professional occupations.
On one component indicator, women’s labor force participation, New York ranks in the bottom half of all states and the District of Columbia, at 27th.
Despite this lower ranking, New York is one of just 12 jurisdictions among the 50 states and the District of Columbia whose labor force participation rate for women has increased since 2002.
