American women earn more than their male partners in about 40% of US households. This is most common in low-income households and gets less common as a household's income increases: 70% of women in households in the lowest 20% of incomes out-earn their male partners, while about 50% do in middle-income households and only about 34% do in high-income households. Despite this, studies show that women, on average, earn $0.77 US Dollars (USD) to every dollar men earn.
More about women and earnings:
- Women who are the primary breadwinners in their family report being less pessimistic about the economy than men in the same position.
- The majority of women work in education, health, trade, transportation, utilities, or local government. The industries with the fewest women include mining, logging, construction, and federal-level government.
- Women who earn more than their male partners are much more likely to keep separate bank accounts than those who earn less.