These 10 Cities Have the Largest Gender Pay Gaps in the U.S. — and One State Dominates Half the List

In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men did.

By Amanda Breen edited by Jessica Thomas Mar 14, 2023
spxChrome | Getty Images

It’s Equal Pay Day — the annual reminder of the persistent gender pay gap in the U.S.

Educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience are several measurable factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, per the National Bureau of Economic Research, and women’s earnings gains over time can be attributed to progress in those areas.

But the journey’s been a slow one.

In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men did, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. Little has changed since 2002 — when women earned 80% as much as men.

Chamber of Commerce’s recent study analyzed the largest gender pay gaps in cities and states across the country, examining earnings for full-time, year-round workers within the most populated 170 cities in the U.S.

Related: It’s Equal Pay Day, and This Twitter Bot Is Calling Out Companies That Pay Men More Than Women

These are the top 10 cities with the largest gender pay gaps based on median earnings:

1. Sunnyvale, California

Pay gap: $40,584

2. Frisco, Texas

Pay gap: $39,859

3. Cary, North Carolina

Pay gap: $39,491

4. Scottsdale, Arizona

Pay gap: $31,842

5. McKinney, Texas

Pay gap: $29,015

6. Huntington Beach, California

Pay gap: $28,525

7. Fremont, California

Pay gap: $27,854

8. Jersey City, New Jersey

Pay gap: $24,571

9. Irvine, California

Pay gap: $23,258

10. San Francisco, California

Pay gap: $22,626

It’s Equal Pay Day — the annual reminder of the persistent gender pay gap in the U.S.

Educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience are several measurable factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, per the National Bureau of Economic Research, and women’s earnings gains over time can be attributed to progress in those areas.

But the journey’s been a slow one.

In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men did, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. Little has changed since 2002 — when women earned 80% as much as men.

Chamber of Commerce’s recent study analyzed the largest gender pay gaps in cities and states across the country, examining earnings for full-time, year-round workers within the most populated 170 cities in the U.S.

Related: It’s Equal Pay Day, and This Twitter Bot Is Calling Out Companies That Pay Men More Than Women

These are the top 10 cities with the largest gender pay gaps based on median earnings:

1. Sunnyvale, California

Pay gap: $40,584

2. Frisco, Texas

Pay gap: $39,859

3. Cary, North Carolina

Pay gap: $39,491

4. Scottsdale, Arizona

Pay gap: $31,842

5. McKinney, Texas

Pay gap: $29,015

6. Huntington Beach, California

Pay gap: $28,525

7. Fremont, California

Pay gap: $27,854

8. Jersey City, New Jersey

Pay gap: $24,571

9. Irvine, California

Pay gap: $23,258

10. San Francisco, California

Pay gap: $22,626

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Amanda Breen

Senior Features Writer at Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur Staff
Amanda Breen is a senior features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

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