Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Wage inequality in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Despite increasing political attention paid to the topic, gender and racial wage disparities in the Untied States persist. While progress has been made towards closing the gender pay gap, male annual earnings continue to outpace those of female workers by thousands of dollars. Additionally, there are significant discrepancies between different racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., with Asian American households earning nearly twice as much annually when compared with Black American households.
The gender pay gap is further exacerbated by race. When looking at average weekly earnings across all racial groups, women fare worse. Not only do they under-earn compared to men within the same ethnic and racial groups as them, but female workers from all background also have lower average weekly earnings than a white man. The disparity is seen most acutely amongst Hispanic or Latino women who earn an average of 800 U.S. dollars per week compared to the 1,138 U.S. dollars earned by white male workers.
All ethnic minority individuals in the United States also face higher rates of unemployment than white people. This is particularly prevalent amongst Black and African American individuals who had an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in 2023. This has the knock-on effect of hindering Black and other ethnic minority households in establishing other social protections such as retirement funds and access to health insurance.
Gender
There is no state in the United States where women earn more than men. Vermont has the smallest gender pay gap, while Utah has the largest. Additionally, there are almost no occupations in which women out-earn men, even in occupations that traditionally employ more women. For example, male elementary and middle school teachers earned over 150 U.S. dollars per week more than their female counterparts in 2021. A similar trend can be seen for registered nurses and HR professionals. Moreover, while women are hired as new associates at law firms in equal numbers to men, just over a quarter of equity partners were women in 2023. And while furthering one's education may be one answer to increasing overall earnings, the disparity between men and women's wages actually increases with level of education. For example, women with a professional or doctorate degree can expect to make less than a man with a master's degree.The gender pay gap is further exacerbated by race. When looking at average weekly earnings across all racial groups, women fare worse. Not only do they under-earn compared to men within the same ethnic and racial groups as them, but female workers from all background also have lower average weekly earnings than a white man. The disparity is seen most acutely amongst Hispanic or Latino women who earn an average of 800 U.S. dollars per week compared to the 1,138 U.S. dollars earned by white male workers.
Race
While the gender pay gap is persistent and significant, people of all genders are subject to disparities in pay. Another ongoing discussion in the United States is that of the racial wage gap, given the disparities in median household income across racial and ethnic groups. Black American households had a median income of 56,490 U.S. dollars in 2023, significantly lower than the median income of white households which stood at 89,050 U.S. dollars in the same year.All ethnic minority individuals in the United States also face higher rates of unemployment than white people. This is particularly prevalent amongst Black and African American individuals who had an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in 2023. This has the knock-on effect of hindering Black and other ethnic minority households in establishing other social protections such as retirement funds and access to health insurance.
