The Number

LiveStories, a Seattle research nonprofit, has compiled median income data for 25 occupational categories in Los Angeles County, using numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. It turns out that Los Angeles fares well compared to the nation. In five of the categories, women had higher or equal median income compared to men in the L.A. labor market. Nationally, women were paid less than men in all 25 categories. “Examining Los Angeles’ median income data by occupation and gender reveals a unique portrait of the city’s gender pay gap,” Paulina Phelps, editor at LiveStories, wrote in her analysis of the data. The sector with the highest income ratio for L.A. women was office and administrative support. On average, women earned $1.11 for every $1 earned by a male worker in this category. In real dollars, women in these jobs earned a median of $30,029, while men earned $27,118. National figures show women earned 94 cents for every $1 by men. Another job category with higher earnings for women was construction and extraction. In Los Angeles, women in these professions earned $1.09 for every $1 for men, and the ratio is significantly higher than the national figure of 80 cents. Other jobs with higher earnings for women in L.A. included community and social services at $1.03; and installation, maintenance and repair at $1.02. Fire-fighting and prevention achieved pay parity – women earned $1 for every $1 in male income. At the other end of the spectrum, sales occupations had the largest gender pay gap in Los Angeles, with women earning 60 cents on the dollar compared to men. In real dollars, the median income for a saleswoman in L.A. was $18,650, while for men it was $30,892. The gap for other common executive job categories included management at 83 cents, business and financial operations at 81 cents and law at 63 cents. – Joel Russell