In the U.S., it is no secret that women get paid less than men, even with the Biden-Harris administration fighting the wage gap. To further that notion, one study revealed female employees' best- and worst-paying states. One state consistently ranked at the bottom of the list in large metro areas.
The U.S. Department of Labor noted that many women got paid roughly 82 cents to a man's dollar in 2020, noting that the gap is even wider for women of color. In March 2023, the Pew Research Center conducted a study on the previous year's earnings, revealing that the number hadn't changed much since 2020. However, a breakdown of women's wages compared to their men counterparts within the same age group revealed that younger generations, ages 25 to 34, are the closest to eradicating the wage gap at 92 cents to the dollar.
According to the Smartest Dollar, Florida might make this statistic even worse.
The research studied areas with one million people or higher throughout the U.S. in 2023 and ranked them according to the median annual wage for women working full-time in comparison to the average earnings for full-time employment in the area, adjusted to the local cost of living.
In the large metros category, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater came in at No. 45, Jacksonville reached No. 53, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford was second to the bottom at No. 55 and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach came in dead last at No. 56.
The actual median annual wage for what women make in these cities is as follows:
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: $45,967
- Jacksonville, FL: $43,282
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: $42,067
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL: $42,403
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $83,414
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA: $80,497
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: $74,370
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: $70,11
The study also highlighted that women are overrepresented in health and education occupations, noting that "many of the occupations with the highest concentration of female workers pay relatively little compared to other professions."
