Vermont is the number one state for closing the gender pay gap in the past five years, but women still earn an average of 26% less than men across the US.

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Moneyzine.com has analyzed the gender pay gap based on the median earnings of men and women aged 16 and over for the past five years to reveal the states where the gender pay gap has – and hasn’t – begun to close.

Key findings:

  • Vermont has closed the gender pay gap the most out of any other state in the last five years (women now earn 11% less than men as opposed to 23% less five years previously). 
  • Wyoming not only has the largest gender pay gap with women earning on average of 39% less than men, but that gap actually increased by 5% in the last five years.
  • In 13 out of 50 states, the gender gap has actually widened in the last five years, meaning women are earning relatively less compared to men than they were 5 years ago. These states are Wyoming, Hawaii, North Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Washington, and South Carolina.
  • In Maine, Michigan, and Massachusetts, the gender wage gap has not changed at all. Despite this, women’s median earnings are higher in Massachusetts than in any other state.
  • In Vermont, women’s wages have increased by 31% in the last five years, but women still earn 11% less than men. In contrast, men’s median earnings have increased by just 14% in this state.

The top 10 states that have most closed the gender pay gap in the past five years are:

• Vermont (-12% difference)
• Idaho (-8%)
• Rhode Island (-7%)
• Illinois (-6%)
• Virginia (-6%)
• New Hampshire (-5%)
• Oklahoma (-4%)
• Kentucky (-4%)
• Arkansas (-4%)
• New York (-4%)

On the other side of the coin, the states where the gender pay gap has actually widened include:

• Wyoming (5% increase)
• Hawaii (4%)
• North Dakota (3%)
• Montana (3%)
• Arizona (3%)
• Delaware (2%)

Changes in Women’s Median Earnings in the Past 5 years

Moneyzine.com also looked at the past five years of most recent data available from the US Census to analyze how women’s median yearly earnings have changed over this period.

  • In 31 states (62%), women’s median earnings have increased more in the last five years than the median earnings of men – although women still earn less than men, on average, in every state.
  • Women’s earnings have increased the most in Idaho, with the average earnings increasing by 35% in the past five years. In contrast, men’s earnings increased by 20% in this time – although women still earn 32% less than men in this state.
  • Women earn the most per year in Massachusetts ($47,449 per annum on average), but the gender wage gap between men and women has not changed at all in the past five years in this state. Women still earn 25% less than men here.
  • There has been the least movement in women’s median income in the last five years in Wyoming, with a just 1% increase. Men’s median earnings, in contrast, have increased by 10%.

Gender Pay Gap 5 Year Difference Ranked By State