Young women are outearning men in metropolitan cities

young women
Amir Hamja/Photographer: Amir Hamja/Bloombe

In New York City and D.C., there’s a gender pay gap — for young men.

Nationally, women under the age of 30 earn about 93 cents on the dollar compared to men. But in 22 of 250 U.S. metropolitan areas, young women earn the same or more than their male counterparts, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

The gender gap in favor of young women in New York and Washington is slim — they make 102% of what their male peers earn — but it’s rare enough to be highlighted. The report, which analyzes 2019 median annual earnings, shows parity for young people in the Los Angeles metro area.

Read More: Pandemic pushed more women out of jobs in gender parity setback

Overall, Pew found that about 16% of young women who were working full-time lived in cities where women are at or above parity.

For the rest of American women, the wage gap remains an inescapable reality. Young women earn 90 to 99% of what their male counterparts make in 107 metros and 80 to 89% in another 103 cities.

From a regional perspective, Midwestern metros tend to have wider gender wage gaps among young workers, with women earning about 90% of men make.

Women earn 79% or less of what young men make in 18 metros. They include Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mansfield, Ohio; Odessa, Texas; and Elkhart, Indiana.

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