Dublin Has Highest Gender Wage Gap Of Small CA Cities: Study

DUBLIN, CA ? Dublin has the highest gender wage gap of any small city in California, and the ninth highest in the United States, according to a study from Pheabs.com analyzing wages in American cities with populations ranging from 50,000 to 250,000. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau?s American Community Survey, the median annual income for Dublin men is $130,672, and the median annual income for women is $82,355, a gap of $48,317, or 36.98 percent.

However, some Tri-Valley cities may have higher gaps than Dublin, according to the Census Bureau?s ACS 5-year estimate data gathered by Data USA, though Phaebs did not include them on the list:

• Pleasanton men earn a median of $111,9991 and women a median of $65,365, a difference of $46,626.
• Livermore men earn a median of $83,273 and women a median of $48,743, a difference of $34,530.
• San Ramon men earn a median of $124,313 and women a median of $72,285, a difference of $52,028.
• Danville men earn a median of $130,194, and women a median of $71,399, a difference of $58,795.

Phaebs reported the highest gap was reported in The Woodlands, Texas, a Houston suburb where the earnings gap is $61,777. This is also a nationwide trend, and has been for years. In 2022, women earned an average of 84 percent of what men earned, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full and part-time workers. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metropolitan area, the gap is a comparable 83 percent for ages 16 and older, according to Pew. The U.S. falls roughly in the middle of developed countries in terms of gender pay gap. South Korea has the highest, at 36.6 percent, and New Zealand the lowest at 5.6 percent, according to OECD statistics.

The reasons for the pay gap are manifold, but include educational attainment, occupational segregation, and work experience. Men tend to work in higher-paying fields, while women are overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their number in the workforce. Women also tend to care for children and take on a greater share of household duties, so may choose to work lower hours. Gender discrimination also plays a role, though it is difficult to measure exactly how much.

See here for the rest of Phaebs? list of American small cities.