Top 10 Cities Where Women’s Salaries Are Catching Up With Men’s
Top 10 Cities Where Women’s Salaries Are Catching Up With Men’s
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It’s a sad reality that, in the U.S., women earn less than men for the same jobs—generally, 70-something cents for each dollar of a man’s salary in most parts of the U.S. But it turns out that the exact difference depends a lot on where you live.
Curious about how much progress we’ve made in narrowing the wage gap since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 mandated equal pay for equal work, researchers at rental site Abodo analyzed wage trends among male and female full-time workers in various fields for the top 100 metropolitan areas across the country. And indeed, we’ve made at least some progress: In 1963, women earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by men. Today, that number has risen to 79 cents—which translates to a median salary of $38,315 for women, $49,828 for men.
The city with the smallest wage gap today, according to the study? Durham, NC, where women earn 94 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts. Both California and Florida, meanwhile, boast three metros in the top 10.
As for cities with the worst (largest) pay gaps, this oppressive distinction goes to Provo, UT, where women make a mere 63 cents for every dollar made by men. In fact, three cities in this state ended up among the bottom 10. A full rundown of the best and worst cities for gender-based pay parity is below:
Cities with the smallest pay gaps
- Durham, NC: 93 cents
- Los Angeles, CA: 90 cents
- Fresno, CA: 89 cents
- Daytona Beach, FL: 87 cents
- McAllen, NV: 87 cents
- Miami, FL: 87 cents
- Las Vegas, NV: 86 cents
- North Port, FL: 86 cents
- New York, NY: 86 cents
- Sacramento, CA: 85 cents
Cities with the biggest pay gaps
- Provo, UT: 63 cents
- Baton Rouge, LA: 68 cents
- Ogden, UT: 69 cents
- Wichita, KS: 72 cents
- Youngstown, OH: 73 cents
- Augusta, GA: 73 cents
- Salt Lake City, UT: 74 cents
- Colorado Springs, CO: 74 cents
- Detroit, MI: 74 cents
- Bridgeport, CT: 74 cents
So why, exactly, does wage equality vary so much from place to place?
According to Reeve Vanneman, a stratification sociologist (yes, that’s a thing) at the University of Maryland, local education levels play a large role. In his own research, “areas with more college graduates had more equal pay,” he explains. “So did areas that were growing more rapidly. That’s why it’s not a surprise that metro areas like Washington [DC] and San Francisco look good on the gender gap, and Detroit and Cleveland not so good.”
Experts also theorize that Durham came out on top because it’s part of the Research Triangle, an area where three universities—Duke, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—surround an office park populated by high-tech companies such as IBM. The Triangle was developed in the 1960s to stem the “brain drain” of recent college grads to other areas, which apparently was a good move for educated women and the wages they could command in their careers.
Should women move to make more money?
So what should women hoping for a fair paycheck do—pack their bags and move from Utah to Durham? It’s certainly an option, but a less extreme alternative is that wherever you live, make sure to suss out a company’s attitudes toward equal pay during the interview process.
“In every city, there are companies making equal pay for equal work a priority,” points out Dan Green, founder of millennial career site Growella. “It’s a mission that starts with management, and works its way into a company’s DNA. So when you’re interviewing for a job, it’s a question you can ask: ‘Does your company give equal pay for equal work?’ How your interviewer answers that question will tell you everything you need to know.”
Women can also broach this topic with their current employer, suggests Rebecca Brooks, a demographic researcher and founder of Los Angeles–based market research firm Alter Agents.
“For your current employer, if you think it’s a concern, bring it up with them during performance review times and ask for more transparency—and to work on a plan with you to get your wages in balance.”
Because fair is fair, right?
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