Bringing home a six-figure salary is a mark of financial success for many people, and it’s more common depending on where you live.
For example, as many as 1 in 3 women in San Jose, California, brings home at least $100,000 a year, according to a new report from GoodHire, an HR platform. The analysis draws data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Commerce to find out where there are higher shares of high earners across the country.
It makes sense that the highest concentration of six-figure earners live in expensive cities around the Bay Area and on the East Coast. Workers in these competitive talent markets may also have more leverage to negotiate higher pay, though that doesn’t always mean it goes as far to cover essential living expenses.
And because of racial and gender wage gaps, women are less likely to reach the six-figure threshold compared with men. Just 11% of women make $100,000 or more on a national level, whereas 21% of men do.
Here are the top 10 U.S. cities where women are most likely to earn six-figure salaries:
1. San Jose, California
34% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $70,743 per year
2. San Francisco
31% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $70,597 per year
3. Washington, D.C.
27% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $65,344 per year
4. Stamford, Connecticut
25% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $62,860 per year
5. Boston
21% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $61,202 per year
6. New York City
21% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $56,917 per year
7. Seattle
20% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $57,541 per year
8. Baltimore
17% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $55,499 per year
9. Thousand Oaks, California
17% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $51,320 per year
10. Hartford, Connecticut
16% of women earn six figuresWomen’s median annual income: $56,796 per year
Though some cities have high shares of women who earn six figures or more, it’s far from the case nationwide. Women who work full-time year-round earn a median of $50,982 per year, while men earn a median of $61,417 per year, according to the Census Bureau.
Overall, full-time working women are paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to a man, and the gap gets wider for many women of color. That adds up to about $417,000 in lost wages over a 40-year career, according to the National Women’s Law Center, or an extra 12 years of work for women to match men’s earnings.
