Nationwide, women outearn men in just 42 U.S. cities out of an analysis of some 1,800 cities, according to a new GoBankingRates report using Census Bureau data.
The report considers the median annual earnings for men and women in cities with a population of at least 20,000 people.
Of locations, these are the 10 top-paying cities where women outearn men:
- Bowie, Md.: Women earn a median $81,011 a year
- Clinton, Md.: Women earn a median $71,123 a year
- Fort Washington, Md.: Women earn a median $69,983 a year
- Oakland, Calif.: Women earn a median $68,260 a year
- Goleta, Calif.: Women earn a median $65,030 a year
- Laurel, Md.: Women earn a median $65,008 a year
- Monrovia, Calif.: Women earn a median $62,016 a year
- Hackensack, N.J.: Women earn a median $60,237 a year
- Newark, Del.: Women earn a median $58,769 a year
- Chamblee, Ga.: Women earn a median $58,590 a year
In each of these cities, women outearn men by a share of .14% to 18.95% of what men earn.
Across the U.S., women are paid just 84 cents for every $1 paid to a man, on average.
Many of the top cities with gender parity and higher earning power for women are near Washington D.C., where government jobs have more transparent pay practices and, perhaps relatedly, greater gender pay parity, though a gap still exists.
At No. 4, Oakland, Calif., is the largest city on the list, with a population of nearly 360,000 people. There, women earn a median of $68,200 per year, just outpacing men's earnings of $68,100 per year.
The lack of a gender pay gap in these cities isn't, on its own, good news for women's earning power.
"Our findings show salaries are relatively low in the select few cities where women are outearning men," Andrew Murray, lead data researcher at GoBankingRates, tells CNBC Make It. "Several of the cities that made our list have median earnings for women around $30,000 to $40,000."
"This is particularly noteworthy considering that there tends to be less of a gender pay gap among lower-wage workers, especially minimum-wage workers, compared to higher-end, hourly workers," Murray adds.
Women, and particularly women of color, are overrepresented in minimum wage jobs. Research shows raising the federal minimum wage would have an outsized impact on reducing poverty rates for women and the children of women-led households.
Overall, the No. 1 city where women's earning rates are highest compared to men's is Jacksonville, N.C, but actual salary figures are much lower. There, women earn roughly 20% more than men, or $33,000 a year compared with men who earn roughly $27,000 a year — lower than the national median salary of $59,540 per year.
In the case of Jacksonville, the city "has a high government employee base both for the military and Department of Defense which could be contributing to more equitable pay," Murray says.
Overall, women earn the most in five U.S. cities, GoBankingRates notes: Los Altos, Calif. ($150,000 median salary); Saratoga, Calif. ($140,000 median salary); McLean, Va. ($137,000 median salary); San Carlos, Calif. ($137,000 median salary) and Wellesley, Mass. ($130,000). However, men outearn women in each of these cities by a rate of 60% to 70%.
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