About the Pay Gap Calculator
This calculator computes the raw (unadjusted) pay gap between two groups — the same standard used by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the OECD to report headline wage-gap figures. It compares overall average or median pay between two groups without controlling for occupation, hours worked, education, or experience.
The formula
The pay gap percentage is:
Pay Gap % = (Higher-paid group's pay − Lower-paid group's pay) ÷ Higher-paid group's pay × 100
The calculator also reports the same comparison the other way around — the earnings ratio, or "cents on the dollar":
Cents on the Dollar = (Lower-paid group's pay ÷ Higher-paid group's pay) × 100
These two figures are mirror images of each other: a 20% pay gap is the same thing as 80 cents earned for every dollar the higher-paid group earns.
Annualizing pay and projecting the career gap
Enter each group's pay in whatever period is easiest — annual salary, monthly pay, weekly pay, or an hourly wage — and select the matching Pay frequency. Monthly and weekly figures are multiplied by 12 or 52 respectively; hourly wages are annualized using the standard full-time-equivalent convention of 2,080 hours per year (40 hours × 52 weeks). The calculator then multiplies the resulting annual dollar gap by the Years in the workforce you enter to show a simple career-long estimate. This projection assumes the dollar gap stays constant every year — it does not account for raises, inflation, promotions, or career breaks, so treat it as a rough order of magnitude rather than a forecast.
Raw gap vs. adjusted gap
The raw gap answers "how much less does one group earn on average, overall?" It is easy to compute and widely reported, but it mixes together many causes — different jobs, different hours, different seniority, and outright pay discrimination all show up in the same number. The adjusted (or "controlled") pay gap uses regression analysis to hold factors like occupation, hours, education, and experience constant, isolating the portion of the gap that those factors do not explain. Adjusted gaps are almost always smaller than raw gaps and require detailed workforce data this calculator does not collect.
How to get the best results
- Use pay figures measured the same way for both groups (both median, or both mean; both full-time, or both including part-time)
- Match the Pay frequency selection to the period your numbers are actually in
- Treat the career-gap figure as a simplified estimate, not a prediction — it holds the annual gap constant over time