Job and education changes
Education and jobs are key factors. In many cities, such as Las Cruces, New Mexico, where the gender wage gap quickly closed from 2005 to 2013, the percentage of women who earned bachelor's degrees increased. This educational shift mirrors changes nationwide, where women passed men: 18.6 percent of women 25 and older held a bachelor's degree in 2013, while the rate for men was 18.3 percent. But in 2005, it was a different story: More men earned college degrees than women.
Similarly, we've seen stark changes in the job market in the past nine years. While new opportunities in education, health care and social services now employ 18 percent more people in 2013 than in 2005, jobs in construction and manufacturing — which traditionally employ more men — have decreased. These changes in the nation's employment structure are even more dramatic at the local level. Orlando, Florida — a city that has seen the wage gap close quickly from 2005 to 2013 — saw a 79.6 percent increase in education, health care and social services jobs.
Infographic by Brian Yee.
Cities where the wage gap closed the fastest
The table below ranks U.S. cities by how quickly their gender wage gaps closed from 2005 to 2013. Some of the gap between men's and women's wages was reduced in part because of industry changes, other economic events or education.
Oakland, California, the top-ranked city, had the biggest change in the wage gap among all U.S. cities. The unusually large shift is linked to more-equal wages: In 2005, the wage gap was small and favored men, who made less than 1 percent more than women. But by 2013, the gap favored women who were out-earning men.
| ank | City | Change in gender wage gap
2005- 2013 | Change in education, health care and social service jobs 2005-2013 | Change in construction jobs 2005-2013 | Change in manufacturing jobs 2005-2013 | Women's gains in education above men's |
| 1 | Oakland, California | 1,076% | 5.6% | -1.6% | -11.8% | no gain |
| 2 | Dallas, Texas | 172% | 34.8% | -8.5% | -0.3% | 0.2% |
| 3 | Miramar, Florida | 164% | 30.8% | -11.6% | -24.5% | 1.1% |
| 4 | Orlando, Florida | 163% | 79.6% | -44.0% | -10.4% | no gain |
| 5 | Hollywood, Florida | 150% | 0.8% | -0.9% | -26.2% | 0.9% |
| 6 | Elk Grove, California | 129% | 19.4% | 0.3% | 29.5% | 2.7% |
| 7 | Birmingham, Alabama | 114% | 10.3% | -49.2% | 6.9% | no gain |
| 8 | Escondido, California | 113% | 1.3% | 3.4% | -7.7% | 3.4% |
| 9 | Wilmington, North Carolina | 113% | 50.4% | -9.3% | 38.7% | 7.8% |
| 10 | Las Cruces, New Mexico | 109% | 17.1% | -16.8% | -0.6% | 6.2% |
| 11 | Richmond, California | 105% | 4.9% | 6.1% | 10.9% | 4.2% |
| 12 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 102% | 25.7% | -36.9% | 1.4% | no gain |
| 13 | Inglewood, California | 93% | 6.2% | -45.8% | -28.9% | 0.5% |
| 14 | Fullerton, California | 91% | 4.5% | -29.4% | -4.9% | 1.8% |
| 15 | Concord, California | 90% | 24.2% | -29.2% | 12.8% | no gain |
| 16 | Detroit, Michigan | 87% | -24.9% | -37.5% | -32.0% | 1.4% |
| 17 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | 87% | 25.0% | -1.9% | -36.3% | no gain |
| 18 | San Bernardino, California | 86% | -6.1% | -15.7% | -0.3% | 0.5% |
| 19 | Hartford, Connecticut | 84% | 29.6% | -28.3% | 27.5% | 0.9% |
| 20 | Stockton, California | 83% | -1.2% | 28.9% | -28.7% | no gain |
Cities where women earn more than men
Women's incomes in these 22 cities are higher than men's wages.
| Rank | City | Women's income as a percentage of men's | 2013 median income for all workers |
| 1 | Inglewood, California | 120.6% | $25,749.00 |
| 2 | Trenton, New Jersey | 118.2% | $21,824.00 |
| 3 | Orlando, Florida | 113.3% | $27,556.00 |
| 4 | Albany, New York | 111.3% | $29,814.00 |
| 5 | Carson, California | 109.3% | $30,269.00 |
| 6 | Hollywood, Florida | 109.0% | $29,865.00 |
| 7 | Oakland, California | 108.8% | $31,033.00 |
| 8 | Elk Grove, California | 105.9% | $39,780.00 |
| 9 | Hayward, California | 104.5% | $30,226.00 |
| 10 | Miramar, Florida | 104.1% | $28,404.00 |
| 11 | Yakima, Washington | 103.2% | $19,753.00 |
| 12 | Birmingham, Alabama | 102.3% | $22,112.00 |
| 13 | Wilmington, North Carolina | 102.2% | $24,019.00 |
| 14 | Escondido, California | 101.5% | $25,223.00 |
| 15 | Las Cruces, New Mexico | 101.1% | $19,697.00 |
| 16 | Deltona, Florida | 100.9% | $26,247.00 |
| 17 | South Gate, California | 100.8% | $21,374.00 |
| 18 | Dallas, Texas | 100.5% | $27,027.00 |
| 19 | Richmond, California | 100.3% | $25,757.00 |
| 20 | Silver Spring, Maryland | 100.3% | $40,764.00 |
| 21 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 100.3% | $28,269.64 |
| 22 | West Palm Beach, Florida | 100.2% | $31,181.57 |
Cities where women's wages increased the most since 2005
We found the cities where income increased the most for women from 2005 to 2013. Many of these cities saw a decrease in men's wages in this time.
| Rank | City | 2005 median income in 2013 dollars for male full-time,
year-round workers | 2005 median income in 2013 dollars for female full-time, year-round workers | 2013 median income for male full-time,
year-round workers | 2013 median income for female full-time, year-round workers | Percentage change in income for male full-time, year-round workers | Percent change in income for female full-time, year-round workers |
| 1 | Lawton, Oklahoma | $41,496.49 | $22,116.15 | $35,778.00 | $29,526.00 | -14% | 34% |
| 2 | Temecula, California | $65,319.10 | $32,641.70 | $66,652.00 | $43,246.00 | 2% | 32% |
| 3 | Las Cruces, New Mexico | $32,297.79 | $28,267.26 | $35,844.00 | $36,255.00 | 11% | 28% |
| 4 | New Rochelle, New York | $60,864.93 | $45,978.03 | $67,337.00 | $58,868.00 | 11% | 28% |
| 5 | Apple Valley, California | $61,145.77 | $40,396.93 | $52,162.00 | $51,563.00 | -15% | 28% |
| 6 | Billings, Montana | $44,457.21 | $28,838.46 | $43,200.00 | $35,227.00 | -3% | 22% |
| 7 | Cary, North Carolina | $81,957.68 | $46,903.85 | $79,335.00 | $56,702.00 | -3% | 21% |
| 8 | Midland, Texas | $48,892.34 | $27,865.04 | $63,226.00 | $33,608.00 | 29% | 21% |
| 9 | Cranston, Rhode Island | $54,001.01 | $41,983.20 | $52,000.00 | $50,438.00 | -4% | 20% |
| 10 | Santa Fe, New Mexico | $49,975.24 | $38,059.77 | $51,773.00 | $45,170.00 | 4% | 19% |
| 11 | Passaic, New Jersey | $24,742.48 | $21,539.00 | $27,258.00 | $25,470.00 | 10% | 18% |
| 12 | Miami Beach, Florida | $38,253.74 | $34,411.23 | $45,321.00 | $40,496.00 | 18% | 18% |
| 13 | Orlando, Florida | $39,955.44 | $31,574.27 | $32,589.00 | $36,925.00 | -18% | 17% |
| 14 | Portland, Oregon | $49,743.19 | $40,648.02 | $50,569.00 | $47,398.00 | 2% | 17% |
| 15 | Jersey City, New Jersey | $46,689.65 | $39,918.55 | $51,948.00 | $46,493.00 | 11% | 16% |
| 16 | Highlands Ranch, Colorado | $84,511.42 | $52,734.85 | $84,594.00 | $61,232.00 | 0% | 16% |
| 17 | Lakeland, Florida | $37,584.96 | $30,610.37 | $40,979.00 | $35,472.00 | 9% | 16% |
| 18 | Clifton, New Jersey | $60,137.84 | $43,605.17 | $55,658.00 | $50,363.00 | -7% | 15% |
| 19 | Indio, California | $34,571.88 | $27,981.66 | $37,609.00 | $32,279.00 | 9% | 15% |
| 20 | McAllen, Texas | $42,574.63 | $28,047.11 | $40,346.00 | $32,107.00 | -5% | 14% |
Methodology
We used data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2005 and 2013 to rank cities in three unique ways to examine the gender wage gap across the U.S. and how it changed from 2005 to 2013.
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Using data on the median income of full-time, year-round male and female workers, we found the rate of change for each city's wage gap from 2005 to 2013. We then ranked cities by the rate of change in each to find where the wage gap was closing the fastest. To provide additional context, we included data from cities showing employment changes in the health care, education and social services, construction and manufacturing. We also included figures on education to illustrate how many women are earning bachelor's degrees.
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We used 2013 data on the median income for full-time, year-round male and female workers to calculate women's earnings as a percentage of men's. We ranked cities and found 22 places where women's wages were over 100 percent of men's.
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Using data on the median income of full-time, year-round female workers we found the percentage change in wages from 2005 to 2013. We ranked cities to see where women had the largest gains in income. The data included the percentage change in men's income over the same time for additional context.
See also:
