The Gender Pay Gap in Every State: How Your Money Stacks Up

If you live in the same place, buy the same groceries and pay similar utility bills, chances are your cost of living is quite similar to your neighbor. Now, if you add working the same job to this scenario, it would follow that you would make the same income. However, the gender wage gap in each state not only exists, but always finds that on average what men are paid exceeds what women are paid.

GOBankingRates conducted a study that examined pay equity solely based on gender and not factors such as age group, education level, race or ethnicity. That being said, equal pay days aren’t what you find in any of the 50 states based on average salary or median weekly earnings. The United States national average even has women being paid less than men to the tune of 84 cents for every dollar. 

When you break it down by state, the biggest gender pay gap currently exists in Connecticut, showing a difference of $32,027 in what men earn and what women earn annually. Vermont has the smallest gender wage gap of the 50 states as men earn about $13,726 more than women each year, but technically Puerto Rico comes in with the smallest gap of $5,282. 

There is not a state where women earn the same amount or more than men on average, but it is good to look at the gender pay gap statistics in each state to better evaluate earning potential.

• Total average annual earnings: $65,898
• Men mean earnings: $75,956
• Women mean earnings: $52,794
• Gender wage gap: -$23,162

• Total average annual earnings: $79,537
• Men mean earnings: $86,013
• Women mean earnings: $70,087
• Gender wage gap: -$15,926

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• Total average annual earnings: $72,957
• Men mean earnings: $80,399
• Women mean earnings: $62,702
• Gender wage gap: -$17,697

• Total average annual earnings: $63,494
• Men mean earnings: $71,469
• Women mean earnings: $53,395
• Gender wage gap: -$18,074

• Total average annual earnings: $91,839
• Men mean earnings: $100,529
• Women mean earnings: $79,372
• Gender wage gap: -$21,157

• Total average annual earnings: $85,224
• Men mean earnings: $94,625
• Women mean earnings: $71,768
• Gender wage gap: -$22,857

• Total average annual earnings: $100,153
• Men mean earnings: $114,110
• Women mean earnings: $82,083
• Gender wage gap: -$32,027

• Total average annual earnings: $76,171
• Men mean earnings: $83,773
• Women mean earnings: $67,072
• Gender wage gap: -$16,701

• Total average annual earnings: $70,190
• Men mean earnings: $79,341
• Women mean earnings: $58,464
• Gender wage gap: -$20,877

• Total average annual earnings: $73,766
• Men mean earnings: $83,472
• Women mean earnings: $61,632
• Gender wage gap: -$21,840

• Total average annual earnings: $73,839
• Men mean earnings: $80,393
• Women mean earnings: $65,276
• Gender wage gap: -$15,117

• Total average annual earnings: $68,141
• Men mean earnings: $77,130
• Women mean earnings: $54,169
• Gender wage gap: -$22,961

• Total average annual earnings: $83,248
• Men mean earnings: $93,698
• Women mean earnings: $69,580
• Gender wage gap: -$24,118

• Total average annual earnings: $68,946
• Men mean earnings: $77,859
• Women mean earnings: $56,690
• Gender wage gap: -$21,169

• Total average annual earnings: $69,071
• Men mean earnings: $77,695
• Women mean earnings: $57,411
• Gender wage gap: -$20,284

• Total average annual earnings: $70,192
• Men mean earnings: $79,566
• Women mean earnings: $57,247
• Gender wage gap: -$22,319

• Total average annual earnings: $65,700
• Men mean earnings: $73,840
• Women mean earnings: $55,118
• Gender wage gap: -$18,722

• Total average annual earnings: $67,486
• Men mean earnings: $79,989
• Women mean earnings: $51,981
• Gender wage gap: -$28,008

• Total average annual earnings: $69,592
• Men mean earnings: $76,465
• Women mean earnings: $60,883
• Gender wage gap: -$15,582

• Total average annual earnings: $91,732
• Men mean earnings: $100,970
• Women mean earnings: $80,564
• Gender wage gap: -$20,406

• Total average annual earnings: $101,665
• Men mean earnings: $113,536
• Women mean earnings: $86,442
• Gender wage gap: -$27,094

• Total average annual earnings: $74,213
• Men mean earnings: $83,598
• Women mean earnings: $61,455
• Gender wage gap: -$22,143

• Total average annual earnings: $82,922
• Men mean earnings: $91,899
• Women mean earnings: $70,814
• Gender wage gap: -$21,085

• Total average annual earnings: $58,882
• Men mean earnings: $67,994
• Women mean earnings: $48,052
• Gender wage gap: -$19,942

• Total average annual earnings: $69,415
• Men mean earnings: $78,545
• Women mean earnings: $58,010
• Gender wage gap: -$20,535

• Total average annual earnings: $67,806
• Men mean earnings: $76,190
• Women mean earnings: $56,070
• Gender wage gap: -$20,120

• Total average annual earnings: $69,953
• Men mean earnings: $78,183
• Women mean earnings: $58,654
• Gender wage gap: -$19,529

• Total average annual earnings: $70,248
• Men mean earnings: $77,010
• Women mean earnings: $61,102
• Gender wage gap: -$15,908

• Total average annual earnings: $84,846
• Men mean earnings: $95,603
• Women mean earnings: $70,095
• Gender wage gap: -$25,508

• Total average annual earnings: $99,118
• Men mean earnings: $112,296
• Women mean earnings: $81,523
• Gender wage gap: -$30,773

• Total average annual earnings: $64,427
• Men mean earnings: $70,907
• Women mean earnings: $55,798
• Gender wage gap: -$15,109

• Total average annual earnings: $93,781
• Men mean earnings: $104,196
• Women mean earnings: $80,895
• Gender wage gap: -$23,301

• Total average annual earnings: $71,347
• Men mean earnings: $79,942
• Women mean earnings: $60,115
• Gender wage gap: -$19,827

• Total average annual earnings: $72,016
• Men mean earnings: $81,638
• Women mean earnings: $58,008
• Gender wage gap: -$23,630

• Total average annual earnings: $72,082
• Men mean earnings: $80,882
• Women mean earnings: $60,552
• Gender wage gap: -$20,330

• Total average annual earnings: $64,424
• Men mean earnings: $73,801
• Women mean earnings: $51,846
• Gender wage gap: -$21,955

• Total average annual earnings: $78,983
• Men mean earnings: $87,073
• Women mean earnings: $67,795
• Gender wage gap: -$19,278

• Total average annual earnings: $78,465
• Men mean earnings: $88,218
• Women mean earnings: $65,714
• Gender wage gap: -$22,504

• Total average annual earnings: $79,451
• Men mean earnings: $87,749
• Women mean earnings: $68,893
• Gender wage gap: -$18,856

• Total average annual earnings: $67,322
• Men mean earnings: $76,843
• Women mean earnings: $55,322
• Gender wage gap: -$21,521

• Total average annual earnings: $65,577
• Men mean earnings: $73,442
• Women mean earnings: $54,692
• Gender wage gap: -$18,750

• Total average annual earnings: $68,320
• Men mean earnings: $77,559
• Women mean earnings: $56,435
• Gender wage gap: -$21,124

• Total average annual earnings: $74,730
• Men mean earnings: $84,567
• Women mean earnings: $60,992
• Gender wage gap: -$23,575

• Total average annual earnings: $76,461
• Men mean earnings: $87,188
• Women mean earnings: $58,085
• Gender wage gap: -$29,103

• Total average annual earnings: $71,561
• Men mean earnings: $77,520
• Women mean earnings: $64,244
• Gender wage gap: -$13,276

• Total average annual earnings: $86,949
• Men mean earnings: $97,472
• Women mean earnings: $73,059
• Gender wage gap: -$24,413

• Total average annual earnings: $93,065
• Men mean earnings: $103,889
• Women mean earnings: $77,196
• Gender wage gap: -$26,693

• Total average annual earnings: $62,715
• Men mean earnings: $69,957
• Women mean earnings: $53,215
• Gender wage gap: -$16,742

• Total mean earnings: $71,740
• Men mean earnings: $80,179
• Women mean earnings: $60,390
• Gender wage gap: -$19,789

• Total mean earnings: $69,329
• Men mean earnings: $79,553
• Women mean earnings: $53,928
• Gender wage gap: -$25,625

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the differences in pay for males and females in each state. Using data from the US Census American Community Survey S2001, a number of factors were found for each state including; total workers, total median earnings, total mean earnings, male workers, male median earnings, male mean earnings, female workers, female median earnings, and female mean earnings. The difference from male to female in workers, median earnings, and mean earnings were calculated and the states were sorted to show the largest to smallest difference in median earnings. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 14th, 2024.