For Release: Tuesday, February 14, 2017
WESTERN INFORMATION OFFICE: San Francisco, Calif.
Technical information: (415) 625-2270 [email protected]
Media contact:
(415) 625-2270
17-227-SAN
www.bls.gov/regions/west
Women’s Earnings in Hawaii – 2015
In 2015, Hawaii women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of
$729, or 87.9 percent of the $829 median usual weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden
noted that the women’s to men’s earnings ratio in Hawaii decreased 4.9 percentage points from the previous
year. Nationwide, women earned $726 per week, or 81.1 percent of the $895 median for men. (See table 1.
Earnings in this release do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings
differences.)
In Hawaii, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings has ranged from a low of 75.7 percent in 2002 to a high
of 92.8 percent in 2014. The ratio in 2015 decreased over the year for the first time since 2011. (See chart 1.
Data for the states began in 1997.)
Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2015
ranged from $591 in Mississippi to $907 in Massachusetts. In addition to Massachusetts, women’s earnings
in Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Virginia were at or above $825 per week. In the District of
Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,070. (See table 1 and chart 2.)
Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Tennessee at $756 and highest in Connecticut at $1,139.
Six other states (Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Alaska, Virginia, and Washington) had weekly
wages above $1,000 for full-time male workers. In the District of Columbia, men earned a median weekly
wage of $1,224.
Hawaii had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 87.9 percent, and Wyoming had the
lowest, 69.0 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 87.4 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences
among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and
differences in the demographic composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, earnings comparisons by
gender are on a broad level and do not control for factors that can be significant in explaining earnings
differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization.
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides
information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national sample
of about 60,000 eligible households, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings
data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers.
All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from the data presented in
this report.
Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among
data for the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and
differences in the demographic composition of each state’s labor force. In general, the sampling error for the
state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data; thus, comparisons of state estimates
should be made with caution.
The principal concepts and definitions used in connection with the earnings data in this release are
described briefly below.
Usual weekly earnings. The data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any
overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders).
Respondents are asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly,
twice monthly, monthly, annually, or other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period.
Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term “usual” is
determined by each respondent’s own understanding of the term.
Medians of usual weekly earnings. The earnings estimates shown in this release are medians. The median is
the midpoint in a given earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median and
the other half having earnings below the median.
Wage and salary workers. These are workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions,
tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both
the public and private sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are
incorporated.
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Full-time worker. People who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are
defined as working full time for the purpose of these estimates.
For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics
Report 1064, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2015, available at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womensearnings/2015/pdf/home.pdf.
Information in this release will be available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: (202) 691-5200;
Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
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Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state, 2015 annual averages
Total
State
United States................................
Alabama ....................................
Alaska........................................
Arizona ......................................
Arkansas ...................................
California ...................................
Colorado....................................
Connecticut ...............................
Delaware ...................................
District of Columbia ...................
Florida .......................................
Georgia......................................
Hawaii........................................
Idaho .........................................
Illinois ........................................
Indiana.......................................
Iowa ...........................................
Kansas ......................................
Kentucky....................................
Louisiana ...................................
Maine.........................................
Maryland....................................
Massachusetts ..........................
Michigan ....................................
Minnesota..................................
Mississippi .................................
Missouri .....................................
Montana ....................................
Nebraska ...................................
Nevada ......................................
New Hampshire.........................
New Jersey................................
New Mexico...............................
New York ...................................
North Carolina ...........................
North Dakota .............................
Ohio ...........................................
Oklahoma ..................................
Oregon ......................................
Pennsylvania .............................
Rhode Island .............................
South Carolina...........................
South Dakota.............................
Tennessee .................................
Texas .........................................
Utah ...........................................
Vermont .....................................
Virginia.......................................
Washington................................
West Virginia .............................
Wisconsin ..................................
Wyoming ...................................
Number
of
workers
(in thousands)
109,080
1,580
255
2,180
983
12,555
1,895
1,245
345
295
6,601
3,402
470
530
4,479
2,284
1,122
1,023
1,392
1,559
423
2,325
2,423
3,205
2,020
923
2,168
329
714
1,010
503
3,208
624
6,834
3,399
290
3,888
1,313
1,235
4,461
376
1,638
319
2,196
9,556
993
223
3,039
2,403
552
2,082
217
Women
Number
Median Standard
of
weekly
error of
workers
earnings median (in thousands)
$809
711
903
745
682
849
863
1,012
788
1,148
747
751
775
726
846
769
774
765
756
727
790
974
1,001
823
887
668
768
730
754
730
865
969
722
888
723
797
800
739
826
833
827
696
705
705
770
787
831
937
909
724
824
797
$2
14
15
11
14
11
16
31
17
15
7
12
20
11
10
15
15
13
16
15
19
21
15
12
16
17
15
11
10
12
23
13
17
9
11
14
12
12
19
11
22
15
9
13
7
13
17
19
16
14
14
19
48,334
724
110
960
459
5,315
821
586
165
147
3,041
1,552
215
217
2,009
997
510
456
637
716
194
1,117
1,076
1,389
897
438
1,006
147
322
437
219
1,396
286
3,147
1,515
123
1,723
579
527
1,960
174
756
152
938
4,094
366
102
1,364
1,005
247
909
89
Note: See footnotes at end of table.
4
Men
Number
Median Standard
of
weekly
error of
workers
earnings median (in thousands)
$726
615
787
674
607
775
779
874
740
1,070
699
692
729
654
760
687
684
667
685
630
711
884
907
715
786
591
667
660
652
660
746
874
638
816
664
682
716
640
734
723
737
642
624
647
683
660
752
825
797
640
707
654
$2
12
21
13
12
10
17
29
17
44
9
15
21
12
11
23
16
17
17
17
19
43
21
14
26
14
14
17
16
13
18
18
16
18
11
16
13
19
21
13
20
11
10
15
11
19
17
29
22
17
16
15
60,746
856
145
1,219
524
7,241
1,074
659
180
149
3,559
1,850
255
312
2,470
1,287
612
567
755
843
229
1,208
1,347
1,815
1,123
485
1,162
182
392
573
284
1,812
338
3,687
1,884
166
2,165
734
708
2,501
202
881
167
1,257
5,462
626
120
1,675
1,398
305
1,173
128
Women’s
earnings
Median Standard
as a
weekly
error of percentage
earnings median
of men’s
$895
815
1,034
816
761
914
941
1,139
848
1,224
800
816
829
806
911
861
870
870
849
828
889
1,055
1,112
931
954
772
863
794
856
809
965
1,050
812
939
774
912
882
831
884
922
926
762
788
756
864
878
902
1,031
1,025
803
920
948
$3
32
24
20
19
12
20
23
22
41
16
18
30
22
14
27
25
21
25
27
31
28
39
19
26
20
22
24
19
23
25
30
31
13
17
18
14
26
22
15
28
17
18
19
14
23
23
29
30
18
24
25
81.1
75.5
76.1
82.6
79.8
84.8
82.8
76.7
87.3
87.4
87.4
84.8
87.9
81.1
83.4
79.8
78.6
76.7
80.7
76.1
80.0
83.8
81.6
76.8
82.4
76.6
77.3
83.1
76.2
81.6
77.3
83.2
78.6
86.9
85.8
74.8
81.2
77.0
83.0
78.4
79.6
84.3
79.2
85.6
79.1
75.2
83.4
80.0
77.8
79.7
76.8
69.0
Note: In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates; thus, comparisons of state
estimates should be made with caution. Data shown are based on workers’ state of residence; workers’ reported earnings, however, may or may
not be from a job located in the same state.
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