Women's and men's pay in 40 of America's largest occupations
Median earnings for full-time, year-round workers, by sex, from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. Across all occupations women's median was $55,678 vs $66,965 for men (83.1%). Inside these 40 occupations the ratio ranges from 66.2% (Financial managers) to 95.9% (Secondary school teachers). In 40 of the 40, the difference is larger than its margin of error; in the other 0 it is not.
| Occupation | Women's median | Men's median | Women/men | Women's share | Gap vs margin of error |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary school teachers | $65,587 | $68,403 | 95.9% | 56% | Larger than margin |
| Security guards and gambling surveillance officers | $40,033 | $42,103 | 95.1% | 24% | Larger than margin |
| First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers | $77,136 | $81,827 | 94.3% | 36% | Larger than margin |
| Stockers and order fillers | $34,483 | $36,695 | 94.0% | 37% | Larger than margin |
| Cashiers | $29,428 | $31,725 | 92.8% | 65% | Larger than margin |
| Elementary and middle school teachers | $60,916 | $65,701 | 92.7% | 79% | Larger than margin |
| Cooks | $30,282 | $33,031 | 91.7% | 40% | Larger than margin |
| Personal care aides | $35,386 | $38,890 | 91.0% | 78% | Larger than margin |
| Nursing assistants | $38,551 | $42,637 | 90.4% | 87% | Larger than margin |
| Registered nurses | $82,314 | $91,110 | 90.3% | 86% | Larger than margin |
| Project management specialists | $94,660 | $105,235 | 90.0% | 44% | Larger than margin |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | $46,210 | $52,063 | 88.8% | 93% | Larger than margin |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $51,315 | $58,179 | 88.2% | 84% | Larger than margin |
| Human resources workers | $73,493 | $83,697 | 87.8% | 76% | Larger than margin |
| Computer and information systems managers | $124,239 | $141,858 | 87.6% | 26% | Larger than margin |
| Management analysts | $99,121 | $114,227 | 86.8% | 44% | Larger than margin |
| Office clerks, general | $42,637 | $49,227 | 86.6% | 81% | Larger than margin |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | $30,634 | $35,373 | 86.6% | 84% | Larger than margin |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $35,770 | $41,307 | 86.6% | 22% | Larger than margin |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing | $75,812 | $87,669 | 86.5% | 27% | Larger than margin |
| Postsecondary teachers | $81,358 | $94,259 | 86.3% | 48% | Larger than margin |
| Software developers | $122,356 | $142,098 | 86.1% | 19% | Larger than margin |
| Police officers | $71,307 | $83,147 | 85.8% | 14% | Larger than margin |
| Education and childcare administrators | $81,136 | $96,895 | 83.7% | 65% | Larger than margin |
| Customer service representatives | $42,234 | $50,640 | 83.4% | 66% | Larger than margin |
| Teaching assistants | $30,119 | $36,342 | 82.9% | 81% | Larger than margin |
| Food service managers | $46,365 | $56,318 | 82.3% | 48% | Larger than margin |
| Lawyers | $148,567 | $181,226 | 82.0% | 40% | Larger than margin |
| Medical and health services managers | $82,564 | $101,739 | 81.2% | 73% | Larger than margin |
| First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | $56,590 | $70,167 | 80.7% | 69% | Larger than margin |
| Accountants and auditors | $80,005 | $100,168 | 79.9% | 58% | Larger than margin |
| General and operations managers | $75,188 | $94,465 | 79.6% | 37% | Larger than margin |
| Chief executives | $151,010 | $191,756 | 78.8% | 30% | Larger than margin |
| Janitors and building cleaners | $31,792 | $41,070 | 77.4% | 30% | Larger than margin |
| First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | $46,973 | $61,158 | 76.8% | 42% | Larger than margin |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | $44,799 | $59,744 | 75.0% | 38% | Larger than margin |
| Retail salespersons | $37,383 | $51,171 | 73.1% | 37% | Larger than margin |
| First-line supervisors of production and operating workers | $52,076 | $71,486 | 72.8% | 23% | Larger than margin |
| Driver/sales workers and truck drivers | $38,574 | $56,552 | 68.2% | 6% | Larger than margin |
| Financial managers | $82,680 | $124,972 | 66.2% | 55% | Larger than margin |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, tables B24122/B24123/B24125/B24126. Full-time, year-round civilian workers 16+, 2024 dollars; occupations with at least 100,000 full-time, year-round workers of each sex, excluding "all other" catch-all categories. Retrieved 2026-10-09. Sorted from smallest to largest gap.
How to read this
These are raw medians. They do not adjust for hours, experience, or the exact job within an occupation, so they describe what the survey found, not why. Where a gap is within its margin of error, the survey can't distinguish it from zero. See the methodology, the pay-gap lookup tool, and pay by state.