Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Topics
Data & Maps
Surveys & Programs
Resource Library
Men Earned More Than Women Even When They Had Bachelor’s Degrees in the Same Field
Even among bachelor’s degree holders in the same field of study, women generally earned significantly less than men in 2022, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
A recently released table package shows that men with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned more than women with the same education in all fields but that the difference in median earnings varied by field of degree (Figure 1).
Generally, fields of degree with a higher share (at least 60%) of women had relatively lower earnings than those with higher share (at least 60%) of men (other than nursing degree holders who earned significantly more than history degree holders).
Figure 1 shows four of the highest and lowest median annual earnings by field of degree in 2022 for men and women ages 25 to 64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Men have median annual earnings of $123,800 in electrical engineering, the highest of all fields, while women’s earnings are 85.0% of men’s ($105,200). Another high earning field for women is in computer science ($91,990), but their earnings are 79.6% of men’s ($115,500).
Family and consumer sciences had among the lowest median earnings of all fields of study as well as the greatest differences by sex, with women earning $51,590, 73.2% of men’s median earning of $70,440.
In addition to differences in earnings, the composition of fields of degree also differed by sex (Figure 2).
For example, men held at least 60% of degrees in engineering (general, mechanical, electrical, civil), computer science, finance, economics and history.
Women dominated the education fields (general, elementary and other), psychology, social work, nursing, and family and consumer sciences, holding at least 70% of those degrees.
Lower Earnings in Fields of Study Dominated by Women
Generally, fields of degree with a higher share (at least 60%) of women had relatively lower earnings than those with higher share (at least 60%) of men (other than nursing degree holders who earned significantly more than history degree holders).
For example, 90.4% of people with elementary education degrees in 2022 were women and their median annual earnings of $54,900 were lower than earnings in 30 of the 33 other fields of degree (Figure 3).
Social scientists for decades have been trying to identify factors contributing to the gender wage gap, which these data show existed even among holders of bachelor’s degrees in the same field of study.
These differences in earnings may be related to differences in occupation, work experience, full-time versus part-time work and/or educational attainment beyond a bachelor’s degree. The Census Bureau plans to continue exploring this relationship in more detail.
This article was filed under:
Related Statistics
Stats for Stories
Equal Pay Day: March 12, 2024
In 1973, full-time working women earned a median of 56.6 cents to every dollar men earned. In 2022 (49 years later), women earned 84.0, a gain of 27.4 cents.
Stats for Stories
Women’s Equality Day: August 26, 2023
According to the Current Population Survey, 2020 voter turnout was 68.4% for women and 65.0% for men. About 9.7 million more women than men voted.
Subscribe
Our email newsletter is sent out on the day we publish a story. Get an alert directly in your inbox to read, share and blog about our newest stories.
Contact our Public Information Office for media inquiries or interviews.
Employment
What Is the Gender Wage Gap in Your State?
A new Census Bureau interactive visualization shows the gender wage gap for selected occupations in the states and Puerto Rico.
Income and Poverty
Gender Pay Gap Widens as Women Age
A U.S. Census Bureau tool, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) Explorer, illustrates increases in the gender pay gap as women age.
Employment
Women and Men Both Experienced Changes in Occupations During COVID-19
Women’s job losses were concentrated in service occupations 2019-2021. Job gains were mostly in management, business, science and arts occupations.
More stories
Population
Who Commuted on Baltimore’s Key Bridge?
Francis Scott Key Bridge commuters had long, early commutes and were concentrated in specific earnings and occupational categories.
Income and Poverty
Fresh Insights on Income Mobility From 2005 to 2019
Mobility, Opportunity, and Volatility Statistics (MOVS) project shows income dynamics of working-age adults across socio-economic and geographic groups.
Business and Economy
Small Business Week 2024: How Small Businesses Impact Our Economy
The 61st Annual Small Business Week theme is “Building on the Small Business Boom.”
Education
Largest Annual Spike in Public School Spending in Over 20 Years
The Annual Survey of School System Finances shows per pupil spending and revenues for nation’s public school districts in FY 2022.
Page Last Revised - December 13, 2023
✕
Is this page helpful?
Yes
No
Yes
No✕
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum
255 characters maximum reached
255 characters maximum reached
✕
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?
Comments or suggestions?
