16 U.S. cities where women outearn men under 30.

A Pew Research Center analysis found that women under 30 outearn their male counterparts in 16 metropolitan areas across the country.

Although they are at pay parity in six metro areas, their pay still lags men’s in 228 locations. However, the news is encouraging, said Richard Fry, a senior researcher at Pew, which analyzed Census Bureau data from 2015 to 2019.

In 2000, women under 30 who worked full time, year-round earned about 88% of what their male peers earned, according to him.

Fry highlighted that one reason for the pay gap's decrease is that young women are significantly outperforming young men in college graduation.

During the "Great Reshuffle," companies are hoping that these perks will help them attract and retain talent.

“They have an education advantage.”

In the Washington, D.C., and New York metro areas, young women earn 102% of what young men earn when considering median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers. In D.C., 60% of women under 30 have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 45% of young men, while in the New York area, 59% of young women had at least a bachelor’s, compared with 43% of young men.

Besides education, there are also distinct job and commercial prospects based on location, as Fry pointed out. For example, Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana, which has the largest gender pay gap, with young women earning 67% of their male counterparts, is a hub for manufacturing and is famously known as the "RV capital of the world" due to its significant contribution to global recreational vehicle production.

Gloria Blackwell, CEO of the American Association of University Women, expressed excitement over the narrowing of the gender pay gap in major American cities, a trend that her organization has closely monitored.

The majority of women in the country still experience a pay gap, which is not the norm in major cities.

Where women under 30 earn more

According to Pew, these are the metro areas where women under 30 earn more than their male counterparts.

1. Wenatchee, Washington
2. Morgantown, West Virginia
3. Barnstable Town, Massachusetts
4. Gainesville, Florida
5. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida
6. San Diego-Carlsbad, California
7. Yuba City, California
8. New York-Newark-Jersey City (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania)
9. Washington, Arlington-Alexandria (D.C., Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia)
10. San Angelo, Texas
11. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
12. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
13. Iowa City, Iowa
14. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California
15. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California
16. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Where there is pay parity

1. Flagstaff, Arizona
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
3. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California
4. Richmond, Virginia
5. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, California
6. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii

National gender pay gap

In 2020, women earned 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, an increase from 82 cents in 2019, as per the U.S. Census Bureau.

Ruth Thomas, a pay equity analyst at compensation management firm Payscale, stated that the 1-cent closing of the gender pay gap isn't a true reflection of the current situation.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many women in low-paying fields lost their jobs, she stated.

"The pay gap has been closed, but it's not a true closing because high-wage women have left," Thomas said.

Paycale's gender pay gap estimate of 82 cents for every dollar earned by women is based on 6 million profiles of pay data on its website, which is slightly skewed towards higher-educated individuals.

While Thomas believes it may take many years to fully understand the effects of the pandemic, he predicts that the gender pay gap is likely to worsen in the next year.

Hope for the future

Although there are worries about the current situation and the possible effects of the pandemic on women's salaries, experts remain optimistic about the future.

This year, two-thirds of employers plan to address pay equity, according to a February survey by Payscale.

Thomas emphasized the importance of employers addressing pay gaps in their organizations, stating that it would gain momentum and result in positive activity within the next two to three years.

Women are better positioned to observe changes and become more empowered as a result.

With increasing awareness among younger women, they are increasingly entering the workplace with that knowledge, according to Blackwell.

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