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Earnings of Women Aged 20–59, by Race and Ethnicity, 2005–2020

Released: June 2022

DEFINITION: Earnings consist of all wages, salaries, and self-employment income in covered and noncovered employment, including earnings that exceed the annual taxable maximum.

Chart. Title: Real Median Annual Earnings of Women Aged 20-59 (in 2020 dollars). Bar chart with tabular version below.
Show as table
Table equivalent for chart: Real Median Annual Earnings of Women Aged 20–59 (in 2020 dollars)
Two-year period White, not Hispanic Black, not Hispanic Hispanic Asian
2005/2006 33,100 29,400 23,900 35,500
2010/2011 32,400 27,700 23,500 34,200
2015/2016 34,700 27,800 23,800 36,800
2019/2020 39,500 31,500 26,700 46,400
  • Real median annual earnings of women aged 20–59 fell between 2005/2006 and 2010/2011 as a result of the Great Recession of 2007–2009. Women's earnings have risen in recent years, but differ substantially by race and ethnicity.
  • In 2019/2020, real median annual earnings among—
    • White, non-Hispanic women were $39,500—13.8% more than 2015/2016 and 19.3% more than 2005/2006.
    • Black, non-Hispanic women were $31,500—13.3% more than 2015/2016 and 7.1% more than 2005/2006.
    • Hispanic women were $26,700—12.2% more than 2015/2016 and 11.7% more than 2005/2006.
    • Women of Asian heritage were $46,400—26.1% more than 2015/2016 and 30.7% more than 2005/2006.

SOURCE: Social Security Administration (SSA) calculations using SSA earnings data linked to Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement public-use files. Sample weights have been adjusted to lessen the effect of different distributions of workers by age across race and ethnicity categories.

NOTES: Earnings are indexed to 2020 values based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Includes workers with annual earnings equal to or greater than one earnings credit. In 2020 dollars, the earnings required to earn a single credit were $1,219 in 2005 and $1,410 in 2020.

Real median earnings are shown for 2-year periods to reduce annual variability that can occur when sampling relatively small demographic groups.