The Black-white median wage gap has widened since 1979: Annual Black-white median wage gap, 1973–2021
| Date | Gap (Median) |
|---|---|
| 1973 | 22.30% |
| 1974 | 19.80% |
| 1975 | 19.10% |
| 1976 | 19.00% |
| 1977 | 18.80% |
| 1978 | 20.10% |
| 1979 | 16.40% |
| 1980 | 17.30% |
| 1981 | 17.50% |
| 1982 | 19.40% |
| 1983 | 18.30% |
| 1984 | 19.50% |
| 1985 | 19.30% |
| 1986 | 20.00% |
| 1987 | 19.60% |
| 1988 | 18.40% |
| 1989 | 20.40% |
| 1990 | 20.10% |
| 1991 | 22.10% |
| 1992 | 20.50% |
| 1993 | 19.90% |
| 1994 | 20.10% |
| 1995 | 20.80% |
| 1996 | 21.80% |
| 1997 | 21.50% |
| 1998 | 20.40% |
| 1999 | 19.60% |
| 2000 | 20.80% |
| 2001 | 22.60% |
| 2002 | 21.30% |
| 2003 | 20.20% |
| 2004 | 19.90% |
| 2005 | 21.10% |
| 2006 | 20.60% |
| 2007 | 22.30% |
| 2008 | 23.10% |
| 2009 | 21.30% |
| 2010 | 21.20% |
| 2011 | 22.20% |
| 2012 | 24.60% |
| 2013 | 22.50% |
| 2014 | 24.10% |
| 2015 | 25.60% |
| 2016 | 23.00% |
| 2017 | 25.30% |
| 2018 | 26.70% |
| 2019 | 24.40% |
| 2020 | 23.60% |
| 2021 | 23.40% |
Note: Wages are adjusted into 2021 dollars by the CPI-U-RS. The regression-based gap is based on average wages and controls for gender, race and ethnicity, education, age, and geographic division. The log of the hourly wage is the dependent variable.
Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, https://microdata.epi.org.