The Gender Gap in Median Income Expanded in 2023

The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual report on income in the United States.

According to data in the report, the median income of households headed by a single woman in the United States in 2023 was $59,470. These households made up 11.4 percent of all family households in the United States.

The median income figure shows the point where half of all families earn below this level and half earn above this level. Income includes earnings, rental fees, interest, dividends, and money from other sources.

For households headed by a single man in 2023, the median income figure was $81,890. For married-couple families, the median income was $119,400. Thus, the median income level for family households headed by a single woman was 72.6 percent of the median income for family households headed by a single man. This was down from 76.1 percent in 2022. The median income level for family households headed by a single woman was 49.8 percent of the median income of married-couple families, down from 50.6 percent a year ago.

For single women living alone, the median income in 2023 was $42,140. For single men living alone, the median income was $57,200. Thus, single women had a median income of 73.7 percent of the median income of single men, down from 77.4 percent in 2022.