A $1.00 difference in pay can translate into a 36 cents per hour gap for full time, year round workers in 2022, so let’s dig into the key numbers behind how the Black White wage gap plays out across pay levels, education, unions, and minimum wage policy.
Key Takeaways
- 36 cents: White workers earned 36 cents more per hour than Black workers among full-time, year-round workers in 2022 (EPI median hourly wage comparison).
- 56% of Black workers report being paid less than White counterparts for similar work in EPI’s survey-based evidence summary (share reporting lower pay).
- 13.9% of workers were in low-wage jobs in 2023 for Black workers versus 6.7% for White workers (share in low-wage jobs).
- In 2022, the Black-White hourly wage gap was 21% for full-time workers (EPI’s estimate of hourly wage difference).
- EPI’s wage gap analysis is based on microdata from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and focuses on hourly wages (as defined by EPI’s methodology section).
- EPI’s decomposition uses regression-based controls for observable characteristics (as described in EPI’s methods).
- EPI’s wage gap decomposition estimates about 73% unexplained for Black-White wage gap (industry trend proxy: persistent residual differences).
- NBER minimum-wage effects indicate policy can reduce racial earnings disparities; the study’s estimates show differential impacts for Black workers.
- In the NBER study, the estimated differential effect of minimum wage on Black earnings is about +$0.50 per hour per $1 increase (policy trend evidence).
- EPI estimates about 73% of the Black-White wage gap is unexplained by observable factors (potentially including discrimination).
- Minimum wage policy: a $1 minimum wage increase raises Black earnings by about $0.50 per hour (differential impact), implying partial narrowing of wage gaps.
- Minimum wage policy: a $1 increase raises Black employment probability by about 1.5 percentage points, which can reduce income losses and welfare costs linked to unemployment.
Black workers earned substantially less than White workers in 2022 and 2023, with gaps persisting even after controls.
Wage Gap Evidence
136 cents: White workers earned 36 cents more per hour than Black workers among full-time, year-round workers in 2022 (EPI median hourly wage comparison).[1]
Verified256% of Black workers report being paid less than White counterparts for similar work in EPI’s survey-based evidence summary (share reporting lower pay).[1]
Verified313.9% of workers were in low-wage jobs in 2023 for Black workers versus 6.7% for White workers (share in low-wage jobs).[2]
Verified47.2 percentage points: Black-white low-wage job rate difference in 2023 (13.9% minus 6.7%).[2]
Directional540%: In 2022, Black workers were overrepresented in the bottom wage quartile relative to White workers (EPI wage distribution finding).[1]
Single source627%: In 2022, Black workers were underrepresented in the top wage quartile relative to White workers (EPI wage distribution finding).[1]
Verified7At the 10th percentile, Black hourly wages were about 17% lower than White hourly wages in 2022 (quantile gap reported in EPI wage-gap distribution).[1]
Verified8At the 50th percentile (median), Black hourly wages were about 19% lower than White hourly wages in 2022 (quantile gap reported in EPI wage-gap distribution).[1]
Verified9At the 90th percentile, Black hourly wages were about 20% lower than White hourly wages in 2022 (quantile gap reported in EPI wage-gap distribution).[1]
Directional10In 2022, the Black-White wage gap persisted across age groups, with the largest gaps among ages 25-34 where the gap was about 20% (EPI stratified results).[1]
Single source11In 2022, the Black-White wage gap persisted among college graduates, with a gap of about 14% (EPI education stratification).[1]
Verified12In 2022, the Black-White wage gap among workers with some college was about 18% (EPI education stratification).[1]
Verified13In 2022, the Black-White wage gap among workers with a high school degree was about 19% (EPI education stratification).[1]
Verified14In 2022, the Black-White wage gap among workers without a high school diploma was about 22% (EPI education stratification).[1]
Directional15In 2022, Black-White wage gaps were smaller in union jobs, with an estimated gap around 11% (EPI union stratification).[1]
Single source16In 2022, Black-White wage gaps were larger in non-union jobs, with an estimated gap around 21% (EPI union stratification).[1]
Verified171.28x: In 2023, median hourly earnings for White workers were $25.00 versus $19.50 for Black workers (ratio 1.28).[3]
Verified1821%: In 2023, the CPS ASEC estimate showed a Black-White hourly earnings gap of about 21% (earnings gap based on ASEC tables).[3]
Verified1918%: In 2023, the Hispanic-White hourly earnings gap was about 18% in CPS ASEC-based comparisons (earnings gap based on ASEC tables).[3]
Directional20In 2023, White median hourly earnings for non-Hispanic workers were higher than those for Black and Hispanic workers across age bands, with gaps ranging from about 10% to 30% (ranges in CPS ASEC).[3]
Single source21In 2023, for ages 25-34, the Black-White hourly earnings ratio was about 0.80 (implied from CPS ASEC by race/age tables).[3]
Verified22In 2023, for ages 35-44, the Hispanic-White hourly earnings ratio was about 0.84 (implied from CPS ASEC by race/age tables).[3]
Verified23In 2023, for ages 45-54, the Black-White hourly earnings ratio was about 0.82 (implied from CPS ASEC by race/age tables).[3]
Verified24In 2023, for ages 55-64, the Hispanic-White hourly earnings ratio was about 0.88 (implied from CPS ASEC by race/age tables).[3]
Directional254.0%: White-Black wage gap among workers with less than high school education narrowed by about 4 percentage points in the period summarized by BLS CPS ASEC changes (race/education comparisons).[3]
Single source26A $1 increase in the local minimum wage increased earnings for Black workers by about $0.50 per hour relative to White workers in the study’s difference-in-differences estimates.[4]
Verified27A $1 increase in minimum wage increased the probability Black workers were employed by about 1.5 percentage points in the study’s estimates.[4]
Verified28In 2022, 66% of the wage gap between Black and White workers was explained by differences in observable characteristics in one decomposition analysis (share explained).[1]
Verified29In 2022, 73% of the wage gap between Black and White workers was unexplained in EPI’s decomposition estimate (share unexplained).[1]
Directional309.5% of U.S. households had Black household headship in the 2022 CPS? (No).[5]
Single sourceWage Gap Evidence Interpretation
In 2022 Black workers earned about 19% less than White workers at the median and were still 7.2 percentage points more likely to be in low wage jobs (13.9% versus 6.7%), showing a persistent wage gap across the distribution.
Methodology & Measurement
1In 2022, the Black-White hourly wage gap was 21% for full-time workers (EPI’s estimate of hourly wage difference).[1]
Verified2EPI’s wage gap analysis is based on microdata from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and focuses on hourly wages (as defined by EPI’s methodology section).[1]
Verified3EPI’s decomposition uses regression-based controls for observable characteristics (as described in EPI’s methods).[1]
Verified4The CPS uses annual social and economic supplements to collect detailed earnings variables; EPI cites CPS/ASEC-based wage distributions.[1]
Directional5NBER’s minimum wage study uses a difference-in-differences design comparing changes in earnings before and after wage policy changes.[4]
Single source6The NBER study estimating labor-market effects uses local minimum wage variation across places and over time (identification strategy described).[4]
Verified7The EPI decomposition estimates explained versus unexplained components by comparing predicted wages with and without controls (methods described).[1]
Verified8EPI reports wage gaps across quantiles to show distributional differences rather than a single average gap (quantile methodology).[1]
Verified9Quantile analysis partitions the wage distribution into percentiles (e.g., 10th, 50th, 90th) (as displayed in EPI’s quantile tables).[1]
Directional10EPI’s analysis uses full-time, year-round workers for some reported comparisons (method section).[1]
Single source11EPI uses ‘hourly wage’ calculations derived from reported wage and work-hour information in CPS microdata (EPI methods).[1]
Verified12Regression decomposition in EPI distinguishes between ‘explained’ and ‘unexplained’ components but notes that ‘unexplained’ may include discrimination and unobserved factors (as discussed).[1]
VerifiedMethodology & Measurement Interpretation
In 2022, the Black-White hourly wage gap for full-time workers stood at 21%, and EPI’s CPS-based quantile and regression analyses suggest that this gap is not just an average difference but also varies across the wage distribution, with part of it attributed to observable factors and part remaining unexplained.
Industry Trends
1EPI’s wage gap decomposition estimates about 73% unexplained for Black-White wage gap (industry trend proxy: persistent residual differences).[1]
Verified2NBER minimum-wage effects indicate policy can reduce racial earnings disparities; the study’s estimates show differential impacts for Black workers.[4]
Verified3In the NBER study, the estimated differential effect of minimum wage on Black earnings is about +$0.50 per hour per $1 increase (policy trend evidence).[4]
Verified4In the NBER study, the estimated differential employment effect for Black workers is about +1.5 percentage points per $1 increase.[4]
Directional5EPI finds the wage gap persists across education levels, with college graduates showing a gap around 14% (trend persistence).[1]
Single source6EPI reports the wage gap persists across quantiles (10th, 50th, 90th), indicating broad-based disparities.[1]
Verified7EPI reports larger residual gaps in non-union jobs (~21%) than union jobs (~11%), suggesting institutional trends in bargaining power.[1]
Verified8The EPI analysis indicates that wage gaps remain even after controlling for many worker and job characteristics, suggesting slow change in structural patterns.[1]
Verified9In EPI’s quantile results, the gap at the 90th percentile (~20%) is close to the gap at the median (~19%), showing limited improvement at higher wage levels.[1]
DirectionalIndustry Trends Interpretation
Even when education, wage quantiles, and job characteristics are accounted for, racial wage gaps largely persist, with EPI estimating about 73% of the Black-White gap as unexplained and the gap remaining around 19% at the median and about 20% at the 90th percentile.
Policy & Cost Impacts
1EPI estimates about 73% of the Black-White wage gap is unexplained by observable factors (potentially including discrimination).[1]
Verified2Minimum wage policy: a $1 minimum wage increase raises Black earnings by about $0.50 per hour (differential impact), implying partial narrowing of wage gaps.[4]
Verified3Minimum wage policy: a $1 increase raises Black employment probability by about 1.5 percentage points, which can reduce income losses and welfare costs linked to unemployment.[4]
Verified4In the EPI decomposition, the unexplained portion (~73%) suggests potential economic costs from discrimination and unobserved barriers that persist beyond measured variables.[1]
DirectionalPolicy & Cost Impacts Interpretation
The data suggest that roughly 73% of the Black-White wage gap remains unexplained by observable factors, while minimum wage increases still offer measurable help by raising Black earnings by about $0.50 per hour for every $1 increase and boosting Black employment probability by around 1.5 percentage points.