Women by the Numbers
From the U.S. Census Bureau
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Find information on the status and achievements of American women, including population, earnings, motherhood, education, professions, and more in honor of Women's History Month.
162 million
The number of females in the U.S. as of July 2014. The number of males was 157.0 million.
2 to 1
At 85 and older, the approximate ratio by which women outnumbered men in 2014 (4.1 million to 2.1 million)
Jobs
75.6 million
The number of females 16 and older who participated in the civilian labor force in 2014. Women comprised 47.4 percent of the civilian labor force in 2014.
63%
Percentage of social scientists who were women, the heaviest representation of women among all STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Among other STEM fields, approximately 14 percent of engineers, 45 percent of mathematicians and statisticians, and 47 percent of life scientists were women. The rates of mathematicians and statisticians, and life scientists are not statistically different from each other.
| Women's Representation In Select Occupations | 1970 | 2006-2010 |
| Registered nurses | 97.3% | 91.2% |
| Dental assistants | 97.9% | 96.3% |
| Cashiers | 84.2% | 74.7% |
| Elementary and middle school teachers | 83.9% | 79.3% |
| Pharmacists | 12.1% | 52.6% |
| Accountants | 24.6% | 60.0% |
| Computer programmers | 24.2% | 24.4% |
| Physicians and surgeons | 9.7% | 32.4% |
| Lawyers and judges | 4.9% | 33.4% |
| Police officers | 3.7% | 14.8% |
| Civil engineers | 1.3% | 12.7% |
14.0%
Percentage of employed women 16 and over in 2014 who worked in management, business and financial occupations, compared with 15.6 percent of employed men in the same year.
Military
1.6 million
Number of women veterans in the United States in 2014.
Earnings
3%
Percentage points of increase—from 6 to 9 percent—where the wife in married couples earned at least $30,000 more than the husband between 2000 and 2015.
$39,621
The median annual earnings of women 15 or older who worked year-round, full time in 2014. In comparison, the median annual earnings of men were $50,383.
79?
The amount that female year-round, full-time workers earned in 2014 for every dollar their male counterparts earned.
Education
12.7 million
Number of women enrolled in undergraduate college and graduate school in 2014. Women comprised 55.2 percent of all college students (undergraduate and graduate).
30.2
Percentage of women 25 and older who had obtained a bachelor's degree or more as of 2014. The percentage of men 25 and older who had obtained a bachelor's degree or more as of 2014 was 29.9 percent.
Voting
43.0%
Percentage of female citizens 18 and older who reported voting in the 2014 election. By comparison, 40.8 percent of their male counterparts reported voting.
Motherhood
43.5 million
Estimated number of mothers age 15 to 50 in the U.S. in 2014.
2.0
Average number of children that women age 40 to 44 had given birth to as of 2014, down from 3.1 children in 1976, the year the Census Bureau first began collecting such data. The percentage of women in this age group who had ever given birth was 85 percent in 2014, down from 90 percent in 1976.
Marriage
67.1 million
Number of married women 18 and older (including those who were separated or had an absent spouse) in 2015.
5.2 million
Number of stay-at-home mothers nationwide in 2015, compared with 199,000 stay-at-home fathers.
- More from Women's History Month
