Adobe Stock
Audio By Carbonatix
It seems that all anyone wants to talk about these days is the economy, but if anyone has earned the right to complain, it’s Dallas-area women.
According to a Dallas Morning News analysis of census data, women across North Texas continue to earn less than their male peers. In 2024, women earned 72 cents for every dollar a man earned, the investigation found, which amounts to a median income $16,600 lower than men’s.
It didn’t used to be this bad, although it wasn’t much better either. In 2021, the median income difference was around $12,700, as women earned 74 cents for every dollar a man earned.
2023 was the first year the median income for women rose over $40,000, The News found. In 2024, the median income for women was $41,830, while the median income for men was $58,498. Oftentimes, women don’t even realize they’re earning less, said Saki Milton, the founder of The GEMS Camp, which introduces Dallas-area girls to STEM careers.
“They think, ‘Oh, I got a good job paying $70,000,’” Milton told The News. “Well, did you know the guy who works on your team who does the same job as you is paid $90,000?”
Wages have steadily grown across North Texas, but it may be hard to notice. Over the last year, reports have found that wage growth across DFW has not kept up with inflation, meaning that although your take-home dollar amount has likely increased since the pandemic, that money isn’t stretching as far as it once did. In Dallas specifically, housing and grocery costs are two of the leading financial stressors.
Of the 10 most populous major metros, DFW’s gender wage gap is the most severe. The Houston area ranked eighth, with women making 74 cents for every man’s dollar. While not included in the 10-largest metro rankings, Austin women earn the same as Houston women, and San Antonio women make 76 cents for every dollar.
New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Miami are the only three major metros where women are making 80 cents or more for every dollar a man earns, and in none of the cities surveyed are women making 85 cents or more compared to their dollar-earning counterparts.
As experts told The News, the problem extends beyond what women are earning. Other factors contribute to biases against working women, including perceptions of motherhood. Women, especially those who are leading single-parent households, also need better access to support like childcare and health insurance, which can then widen the economic gap between men and women.
“Texas, and North Texas, are an economic powerhouse that in many ways are powered by its women,” Karen Hughes White, president and CEO of the Texas Women’s Foundation, told The News. “So you really have to step back and take that holistic look at what women want and need to work fully, consistently and productively.”
