Who Earns More Income in American Households?

Compared to 1970, a shift towards women making the higher income.

As we know, more women are in the workforce now than there were in the 1970s. However, oftentimes men and women tend to work different types of jobs, which leads to differences in income. In households with male-female partners, it’s still much more common for the male to earn more than the female.

Based on data from the Census and the American Community Survey, we can see the differences more concretely. Again, looking at households with male-female partners (not necessarily married), 69 percent of males earned more than their female partner, and 24 percent of females earned more than their male partners. The percentages don’t add up to 100, because some partners record the same income, which I’m guessing are many family-run businesses.

 

Here is a more granular comparison, which plots the male income versus female income. When you flip between 1970 and 2015, you can see the increase in incomes overall and the distribution shifting sort of counter clockwise as women are earning more.

Or, if you prefer a less split view, here’s the change in the ratio of female income to male income. A ratio greater than one means the female makes more than their male partner. In 2000, the 75th percentile mark was right at the even line. By 2010, the ratio rose, but didn’t change much in between 2010 and 2015.

You can see a similar trend when you look at the percentage of males and females who did not earn an income. It’s interesting to see that quick fall for females between 1970 and 1990, from 42 to 20 percent, respectively. It’s still rare to see male-female households where only the female works.

Will the lines ever converge?

Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.

See What You Get

Learn to Visualize Data See All →

R Cheat Sheet and Guide for Graphical Parameters

You can customize graphics in R with par(), but the docs are mostly text and just organized alphabetically. Here is a more visual reference, categorized by what you can change. Plus, a one-page printout.

How to Make a State Map Grid with Small Multiples in R

Combining small multiples with the grid layout can make for an intuitive geographic reference.

Small Multiples in R

Make a lot of charts at once, line them up in a grid, and you can make quick comparisons across several categories.

How to Make Print-ready Graphics in R, with ggplot2

You don’t have to use illustration software to polish your graphics. If keeping everything in R is your thing, this tutorial is for you.

Favorites

Unemployment in America, Mapped Over Time

Watch the regional changes across the country from 1990 to 2016.

All the Household Types in the U.S.

No need to restrict ourselves to the most common types. There are thousands. Let’s look at all of them.

Peak Non-Creepy Dating Pool

Based on the “half-your-age-plus-seven” rule, the range of people you can date expands with age. Combine that with population counts and demographics, and you can find when your non-creepy dating pool peaks.

Watching the Growth of Walmart

The ever so popular Walmart growth map gets an update, and yes, it still looks like a wildfire. Sam’s Club follows soon after, although not nearly as vigorously.