Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

21-1699-ATL
Thursday, October 07, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Women’s Earnings In South Carolina — 2020

In 2020, South Carolina women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $767, or 77.6 percent of the $988 median usual weekly earnings of their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the 2020 women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio of 77.6 percent compared to 76.9 percent in 2019. Nationwide, women earned $891 per week, or 82.3 percent of the $1,082 median for men. (See chart 1 and table 1. The earnings comparisons in this release are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be important in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization.)


Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2020 ranged from $675 in Mississippi to $1,166 in Connecticut. Women’s earnings in five other states (Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia) and the District of Columbia were at or above $1,000 per week. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Mississippi at $878 and highest in Massachusetts at $1,356. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia had weekly wages above $1,000 for full-time male workers.

Connecticut had the highest women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio among the states, 97.0 percent, and Utah had the lowest, 72.7 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 85.6 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, sampling error for state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates. Consequently, earnings comparisons between states should be made with caution.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on 2020 Women’s Earnings

Data on median weekly earnings for 2020 reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market. Comparisons with data on earnings for earlier years should be interpreted with caution. Large declines in employment in 2020, particularly among low-wage workers (who were disproportionately affected by job loss related to the pandemic), resulted in changes in the median earnings distribution. This large and abrupt shift in the earnings distribution during the year manifested as an upward bump in the rate of earnings growth in 2020; however, the underlying rate of growth in workers’ median weekly earnings during the year is more difficult to discern because of the sudden, dramatic shift in the earnings distribution. More information on labor market developments in 2020 is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.


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. The survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. 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 survey data on earnings are based on 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 release.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. Further information about the reliability of data from the CPS is available on the CPS Technical Documentation page of the BLS website.

The principal concepts and definitions used in connection with the earnings data in this release are described briefly below.

Usual weekly earnings reflect 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.

The median of usual weekly earnings reflects 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 are people 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.

Full-time workers are defined for the purposes of these estimates as those who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1094, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2020, available at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2020/home.htm.      

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202)-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800)-877-8339.

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state, 2020 annual averages
State Total Women Men Women’s
earnings as a
percentage
of men’s
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median
Number of
workers
(in thou-
sands)
Median
weekly
earnings
Standard
error of
median

United States

110,387 $984 $2 49,476 $891 $3 60,911 $1,082 $5 82.3

Alabama

1,628 887 15 745 791 21 884 978 29 80.9

Alaska

238 1,021 21 106 913 27 132 1,128 27 80.9

Arizona

2,384 932 16 1,073 856 28 1,312 991 15 86.4

Arkansas

995 849 16 443 771 17 552 917 21 84.1

California

12,544 1,063 11 5,401 993 12 7,143 1,133 14 87.6

Colorado

2,008 1,103 24 834 966 24 1,174 1,237 17 78.1

Connecticut

1,221 1,190 25 536 1,166 37 684 1,202 25 97.0

Delaware

358 947 21 168 838 29 190 1,076 65 77.9

District of Columbia

311 1,628 27 156 1,506 51 155 1,759 38 85.6

Florida

7,025 904 10 3,249 831 10 3,776 988 12 84.1

Georgia

3,584 891 16 1,716 788 18 1,868 1,011 33 77.9

Hawaii

419 980 25 196 896 24 223 1,128 47 79.4

Idaho

588 862 16 239 731 13 349 966 22 75.7

Illinois

4,293 1,030 17 1,951 931 15 2,342 1,162 18 80.1

Indiana

2,378 903 16 1,050 801 21 1,328 1,040 28 77.0

Iowa

1,159 933 19 521 854 16 638 1,020 28 83.7

Kansas

1,044 889 14 457 810 21 586 962 23 84.2

Kentucky

1,439 850 17 656 737 16 783 960 23 76.8

Louisiana

1,457 896 20 693 760 26 764 1,024 35 74.2

Maine

451 918 21 206 794 22 245 1,036 38 76.6

Maryland

2,279 1,149 19 1,104 1,074 51 1,175 1,248 39 86.1

Massachusetts

2,429 1,239 21 1,114 1,115 26 1,314 1,356 16 82.2

Michigan

3,277 995 11 1,500 897 17 1,777 1,113 19 80.6

Minnesota

2,040 1,062 20 914 984 16 1,126 1,147 17 85.8

Mississippi

894 764 15 432 675 23 461 878 27 76.9

Missouri

2,094 904 19 979 807 17 1,115 1,026 30 78.7

Montana

325 876 19 142 771 19 183 955 26 80.7

Nebraska

742 931 15 337 843 18 405 1,014 29 83.1

Nevada

1,035 886 14 449 791 13 586 991 19 79.8

New Hampshire

525 1,051 27 234 954 19 291 1,156 24 82.5

New Jersey

3,178 1,163 11 1,421 1,041 31 1,756 1,267 24 82.2

New Mexico

618 858 20 275 801 24 343 915 33 87.5

New York

6,312 1,101 14 2,934 1,000 11 3,378 1,183 18 84.5

North Carolina

3,524 936 14 1,609 837 20 1,916 1,032 22 81.1

North Dakota

281 963 16 127 851 20 155 1,065 22 79.9

Ohio

3,852 967 12 1,708 862 15 2,144 1,052 22 81.9

Oklahoma

1,265 844 20 538 753 14 728 942 18 79.9

Oregon

1,352 1,026 21 564 936 24 787 1,121 39 83.5

Pennsylvania

4,295 1,002 11 1,922 884 20 2,373 1,111 19 79.6

Rhode Island

375 1,020 25 163 951 28 212 1,112 35 85.5

South Carolina

1,747 883 18 817 767 22 930 988 23 77.6

South Dakota

315 877 13 145 797 18 170 936 20 85.1

Tennessee

2,284 861 20 1,035 760 18 1,249 929 25 81.8

Texas

9,882 939 10 4,274 875 13 5,608 1,006 11 87.0

Utah

1,074 941 13 418 782 20 656 1,076 26 72.7

Vermont

217 960 18 108 886 20 109 1,059 56 83.7

Virginia

3,181 1,130 22 1,453 1,002 30 1,728 1,260 28 79.5

Washington

2,680 1,109 19 1,139 982 34 1,540 1,224 33 80.2

West Virginia

570 829 16 258 739 14 313 907 16 81.5

Wisconsin

2,025 966 18 880 885 18 1,145 1,023 21 86.5

Wyoming

195 940 17 84 795 26 111 1,057 23 75.2

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.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, October 07, 2021