Methodology | The difference in percentage points between men’s and women’s earnings is used to determine that state’s “stop pay date,” or the date at which a woman basically starts working for free. This data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the University of Iowa. (Getty Images)
Women work free after October | Across the country, women effectively stop getting paid on Oct. 29 due to a national pay gap of 18%. In other words, women earn on average a fifth less than men for the same amount of time worked. (Getty Images)
Alabama | Rank: 47 – Average salary, women: $37,161 Average salary, men: $50,018 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 26% – Stop pay date: September 28th (Getty Images)
Alaska | Rank: 9 – Average salary, women: $50,832 – Average salary, men: $60,147 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 15% – Stop pay date: November 8th (Getty Images)
Arizona | Rank: 11 – Average salary, women: $41,496 – Average salary, men: $49,773 – Percent less that women earn compared to men:17% – Stop pay date: November 1st (Getty Images)
Arkansas | Rank: 31 – Average salary, women: $35,467 – Average salary, men$44,631 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 21% – Stop pay date: October 15th (Getty Images)
California | Rank: 4 – Average salary, women: $50,220 – Average salary, men: $57,016 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 12% – Stop pay date: November 18th (Getty Images)
Even when they earn more, women earn less | Women enjoy the highest salary dominance as “producers and directors,” earning an average 6% more than their male counterparts, while the largest pay gap is among legal occupations, where men earn 45% more than women. That means that the wage gap wherein women earn more than men is almost 8 times smaller. (Getty Images)
Colorado | Rank: 26 – Average salary, women: $48,258 – Average salary, men: $60,334 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Connecticut | Rank: 10 – Average salary, women: $55,636 – Average salary, men: $66,477 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 16% – Stop pay date: November 3rd (Getty Images)
Delaware | Rank: 12 – Average salary, women: $46,907 – Average salary, men: $56,350 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 17% – Stop pay date: November 1st (Getty Images)
Florida | Rank: 14 – Average salary, women: $37,458 – Average salary, men: $45,136 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 17% – Stop pay date: November 1st (Getty Images)
Georgia | Rank: 19 – Average salary, women: $40,481 – Average salary, men: $50,346 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Hawaii | Rank: 2 – Average salary, women: $46,524 – Average salary, men: $52,033 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 11% – Stop pay date: November 22nd (Getty Images)
The wage gap does not occur in a vacuum | Women tend to enter the workforce at lower salary levels and be dominant overall in lower-paying occupations due to societal pressure and discrimination, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This could be due to the long hours necessary for these professions, which affects women more because they are disproportionately responsible for child care and other unpaid labor. (Getty Images)
Idaho | Rank: 45 – Average salary, women: $36,761 – Average salary, men: $48,861 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 25% – Stop pay date: October 1st (Getty Images)
Illinois | Rank: 35 – Average salary, women: $45,967 – Average salary, men: $58,579 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 22% – Stop pay date: October 13th (Getty Images)
Indiana | Rank: 44 – Average salary, women: $38,913 – Average salary, men: $51,322 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 24% – Stop pay date: October 8th (Getty Images)
Iowa | Rank: 36 – Average salary, women: $40,681 – Average salary, men: $52,070 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 22% – Stop pay date: October 13th (Getty Images)
Kansas | Rank: 29 – Average salary, women: $40,848 – Average salary, men: $51,291 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Kentucky | Rank: 28 – Average salary, women: $38,763 – Average salary, men: $48,545 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Louisiana | Rank: 49 – Average salary, women: $37,075 – Average salary, men: $51,733 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 28% – Stop pay date: September 21st (Getty Images)
Education doesn’t make a difference | Men out-earn women at every attained level of education, with the biggest disparity among people with advanced degrees with men earning approximately 35% more than women. (Getty Images)
Maine | Rank: 24 – Average salary, women: $40,873 – Average salary, men: $51,029 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Maryland | Rank: 3 – Average salary, women: $56,545 – Average salary, men: $63,272 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 11% – Stop pay date: November 22nd (Getty Images)
Women don’t win — anywhere | While some states have smaller gender pay gaps than others, there is no state where the pay gap is zero or in women’s favor. (Getty Images)
Massachusetts | Rank: 17 – Average salary, women: $57,289 – Average salary, men: $70,483 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 19% – Stop pay date: October 22nd (Getty Images)
Michigan | Rank: 37 – Average salary, women: $41,475 – Average salary, men: $53,150 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 22% – Stop pay date: October 13th (Getty Images)
Minnesota | Rank: 16 – Average salary, women: $49,242 – Average salary, men: $60,441 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 19% – Stop pay date: October 22nd (Getty Images)
Mississippi | Rank: 41 – Average salary, women: $33,140 – Average salary, men: $43,024 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 23% – Stop pay date: October 8th (Getty Images)
Vermont and Wyoming are at opposite ends | Vermont has the smallest pay gap of all U.S. states, with women earning 9% less than men on average. Wyoming has the largest, with women earning 35% less. A 2018 report by the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services found that sparsely populated counties and counties where most jobs were related to mining had the largest pay gaps. In mining counties, women earned an average of $.60 for every dollar a man earned. (Getty Images)
Missouri | Rank: 23 – Average salary, women: $40,496 – Average salary, men: $50,558 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Montana | Rank: 39 – Average salary, women: $38,752 – Average salary, men: $49,778 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 22% – Stop pay date: October 13th (Getty Images)
Nebraska | Rank: 25 – Average salary, women: $41,148 – Average salary, men: $51,412 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Nevada | Rank: 5 – Average salary, women: $40,775 – Average salary, men: $46,706 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 13% – Stop pay date: November 15th (Getty Images)
New Hampshire | Rank: 15 – Average salary, women: $49,291 – Average salary, men: $60,406 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 18% – Stop pay date: October 27th (Getty Images)
DC and Mississippi also oppose each other | Washington, D.C., boasts the highest average salary for women in the country at $75,750 and a gender pay gap of 17%. Mississippi has the lowest average salary for women at $33,140 and ranks 41st among all states with a pay gap of 23%. While raising salaries for women may seem daunting, addressing the minimum wage would be a good start. Nearly 60% of those who would benefit from an increased minimum wage are women, and minimum wage increases during the civil rights era helped decrease the Black-white earnings gap, according to the Economic Policy Institute. (Getty Images)
New Jersey | Rank: 21 – Average salary, women: $53,810 – Average salary, men: $67,007 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
New Mexico | Rank: 38 – Average salary, women: $36,659 – Average salary, men: $46,982 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 22% – Stop pay date: October 13th (Getty Images)
New York | Rank: 6 – Average salary, women: $51,927 – Average salary, men: $60,686 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 14% – Stop pay date: November 10th (Getty Images)
North Carolina | Rank: 7 – Average salary, women: $40,640 – Average salary, men: $47,524 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 14% – Stop pay date: November 10th (Getty Images)
North Dakota | Rank: 43 – Average salary, women: $41,718 – Average salary, men: $54,899 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 24% – Stop pay date: October 8th (Getty Images)
Ohio | Rank: 33 – Average salary, women: $41,184 – Average salary, men: $52,039 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 21% – Stop pay date: October 15th (Getty Images)
Oklahoma | Rank: 48 – Average salary, women: $36,494 – Average salary, men: $49,721 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 27% – Stop pay date: September 24th (Getty Images)
Oregon | Rank: 22 – Average salary, women: $44,634 – Average salary, men: $55,654 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Pennsylvania | Rank: 32 – Average salary, women: $43,791 – Average salary, men: $55,221 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 21% – Stop pay date: October 15th (Getty Images)
Rhode Island | Rank: 8 – Average salary, women: $48,556 – Average salary, men: $57,278 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 15% – Stop pay date: November 8th (Getty Images)
South Carolina | Rank: 40 – Average salary, women: $37,584 – Average salary, men: $48,541 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 23% – Stop pay date: October 8th (Getty Images)
South Dakota | Rank: 46 – Average salary, women: $37,765 – Average salary, men: $50,196 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 25% – Stop pay date: October 1st (Getty Images)
Tennessee | Rank: 20 – Average salary, women: $38,284 – Average salary, men: $47,626 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Texas | Rank: 30 – Average salary, women: $40,670 – Average salary, men: $51,125 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Utah | Rank: 50 – Average salary, women : $39,784 – Average salary, men: $57,117 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 30% – Stop pay date: September 16th (Getty Images)
Vermont | Rank: 1 – Average salary, women: $46,616 – Average salary, men: $51,212 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 9% – Stop pay date: November 30th (Getty Images)
The last decade has been stagnant | While the gender pay gap had grown steadily smaller since the 1970s, women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s has remained around 81-82% since 2010. “At the rate of change between 1960 and 2017, women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059,” according to a study by the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). (Getty Images)
Virginia | Rank: 27 – Average salary, women: $48,209 – Average salary, men: $60,285 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 20% – Stop pay date: October 20th (Getty Images)
Washington | Rank: 34 – Average salary, women: $50,612 – Average salary, men: $63,988 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 21% – Stop pay date: October 15th (Getty Images)
West Virginia | Rank: 42 – Average salary, women: $35,748 – Average salary, men: $46,946 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 24% – Stop pay date: October 8th (Getty Images)
Wisconsin | Rank: 18 – Average salary, women: $42,360 – Average salary, men: $52,305 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 19% – Stop pay date: October 22nd (Getty Images)
Wyoming | Rank: 51 – Average salary, women: $37,302 – Average salary, men: $57,339 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 35% – Stop pay date: August 26th (Getty Images)
District of Columbia | Rank: 13 – Average salary, women: $72,750 – Average salary, men: $87,603 – Percent less that women earn compared to men: 17% – Stop pay date: November 1st (Getty Images)
