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Mapped: Where the Gender Pay Gap Is Widest
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Key Takeaways
- Men working full-time in the U.S. earn 20.3% more than women at the median, but the gap varies dramatically by state.
- Louisiana (36.7%) and Utah (35.9%) post the country’s widest pay gaps, while New York (9.5%) and Vermont (9.9%) have the smallest.
- States with large oil, gas, manufacturing, and extraction sectors tend to show the widest earnings gaps.
The gap in median earnings between men and women varies far more across the U.S. than the national average alone suggests.
Nationwide, men working full-time earn about 20% more than women at the median. But the gap ranges from under 10% in New York and Vermont to more than 35% in Louisiana and Utah.
Much of that variation comes down to the types of jobs that dominate each state’s workforce. States with large oil, gas, extraction, and heavy manufacturing sectors tend to show the widest gaps, while states with large public-sector, healthcare, and urban professional workforces generally post smaller ones.
This map uses the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year 2024 estimates to compare median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers in every state, adjusted for inflation. This is the latest data available as of May 2026.
What the Pay Gap Actually Measures
The figures compare median annual earnings for men and women working full-time, year-round in each state. The gap reflects differences in industry mix, occupation types, seniority levels, and pay within occupations.
A state with high-paying male-dominated extraction industries alongside lower-paying female-dominated service roles will show a large gap, even if workers in both groups are paid market rates for their specific jobs. That distinction helps explain why the largest gaps cluster in certain regions of the country.
Where Gender Pay Gaps Are Widest in the U.S.
Louisiana leads the country with a 36.7% gap. Median male earnings of $62,340 outpace female earnings of $45,594 by $16,746.
Louisiana’s economy is heavily tied to oil, gas, petrochemicals, and offshore drilling, industries dominated by high-paying male workers. Meanwhile, many women working full-time in the state are concentrated in lower-paying healthcare, education, and service roles.
The data table below shows the gender pay gap between men and women working full-time in every U.S. state:
| State | Pay gap (%) | Pay gap ($) | Median full-time salary (men) | Median full-time salary (women) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 36.7% | $16,746 | $62,340 | $45,594 |
| Utah | 35.9% | $18,740 | $70,917 | $52,177 |
| Idaho | 32.2% | $16,147 | $66,255 | $50,108 |
| West Virginia | 31.2% | $14,392 | $60,488 | $46,096 |
| Alabama | 30.4% | $14,301 | $61,286 | $46,985 |
| North Dakota | 27.1% | $14,013 | $65,646 | $51,633 |
| Michigan | 26.2% | $13,739 | $66,132 | $52,393 |
| Ohio | 26.1% | $13,524 | $65,375 | $51,851 |
| Wyoming | 24.6% | $12,317 | $62,469 | $50,152 |
| Iowa | 23.9% | $12,227 | $63,372 | $51,145 |
| Oklahoma | 23.8% | $10,923 | $56,776 | $45,853 |
| Georgia | 23.7% | $12,313 | $64,177 | $51,864 |
| Wisconsin | 23.5% | $12,518 | $65,829 | $53,311 |
| Mississippi | 22.7% | $9,914 | $53,553 | $43,639 |
| New Hampshire | 22.7% | $13,955 | $75,397 | $61,442 |
| Arkansas | 22.4% | $10,097 | $55,242 | $45,145 |
| Indiana | 22.0% | $11,257 | $62,312 | $51,055 |
| Texas | 21.7% | $11,148 | $62,467 | $51,319 |
| New Jersey | 21.6% | $14,374 | $80,925 | $66,551 |
| Missouri | 21.6% | $10,927 | $61,542 | $50,615 |
| Washington | 21.6% | $14,534 | $81,895 | $67,361 |
| Kansas | 21.5% | $10,962 | $62,003 | $51,041 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.4% | $11,939 | $67,699 | $55,760 |
| South Carolina | 21.1% | $10,615 | $60,917 | $50,302 |
| Montana | 20.9% | $10,589 | $61,245 | $50,656 |
| South Dakota | 20.8% | $10,558 | $61,219 | $50,661 |
| Virginia | 20.8% | $12,721 | $73,833 | $61,112 |
| Nevada | 20.7% | $10,426 | $60,753 | $50,327 |
| Tennessee | 20.6% | $10,388 | $60,714 | $50,326 |
| Connecticut | 20.6% | $13,605 | $79,701 | $66,096 |
| Nebraska | 20.3% | $10,452 | $61,827 | $51,375 |
| New Mexico | 20.1% | $10,070 | $60,234 | $50,164 |
| Kentucky | 20.1% | $9,888 | $59,165 | $49,277 |
| Illinois | 20.0% | $11,893 | $71,395 | $59,502 |
| North Carolina | 19.6% | $10,159 | $61,870 | $51,711 |
| Florida | 19.1% | $9,638 | $60,201 | $50,563 |
| Arizona | 18.7% | $9,969 | $63,294 | $53,325 |
| Minnesota | 17.9% | $10,913 | $71,931 | $61,018 |
| Colorado | 17.8% | $11,668 | $77,210 | $65,542 |
| Alaska | 17.7% | $10,798 | $71,716 | $60,918 |
| Rhode Island | 17.7% | $10,883 | $72,391 | $61,508 |
| Oregon | 16.7% | $10,095 | $70,638 | $60,543 |
| Maine | 15.5% | $8,712 | $65,053 | $56,341 |
| Delaware | 14.0% | $7,985 | $65,194 | $57,209 |
| District of Columbia | 13.9% | $13,661 | $111,603 | $97,942 |
| Hawaii | 13.8% | $7,608 | $62,799 | $55,191 |
| Massachusetts | 13.5% | $9,784 | $82,255 | $72,471 |
| California | 13.2% | $8,390 | $72,043 | $63,653 |
| Maryland | 11.7% | $8,317 | $79,125 | $70,808 |
| Vermont | 9.9% | $6,048 | $67,054 | $61,006 |
| New York | 9.5% | $6,228 | $72,097 | $65,869 |
Utah comes in second at 35.9%, with the largest dollar gap in the dataset at $18,740. Utah’s tech and finance sectors remain male-skewed at senior levels, while women working full-time disproportionately fill clerical, healthcare-support, and retail roles that have not kept pace with the state’s broader wage growth.
Idaho (32.2%), West Virginia (31.2%), and Alabama (30.4%) round out the top five. All share a similar pattern: sizable extraction, industrial, or manufacturing sectors alongside female workforces concentrated in lower-paying healthcare, education, and service jobs.
Coastal States Have the Narrowest Pay Gaps
At the other end of the spectrum, New York’s 9.5% gap is the smallest in the country, followed by Vermont at 9.9%. Maryland (11.7%), California (13.2%), Massachusetts (13.5%), and Hawaii (13.8%) also sit below 14%.
These states share several structural traits, including high female college attainment, large public-sector and healthcare workforces, robust urban service economies, and relatively limited extraction or heavy industry employment.
Washington, D.C. (13.9%) follows a similar pattern while also posting the highest absolute earnings in the dataset. Full-time men there earn a median of $111,603 annually, compared with $97,942 for women.
The map shows that gender pay gaps across America are shaped less by geography itself and more by the industries that dominate each state’s workforce.
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