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.
163.2 million
The number of females in the United States as of July 2015. The number of males was 158.2 million.
2 to 1
The approximate ratio by which women age 85 and older outnumbered men in 2015 (4.1 million to 2.1 million).
Jobs
76.1 million
The number of females age 16 and older who participated in the civilian labor force in 2015. Women comprised 47.4 percent of the civilian labor force in 2015.
43.9%
The percentage of life, physical and social science scientists in 2015 who were women, the highest percentage of women among all computer, engineering and science occupations. There were 24.8 percent of computer and mathematical occupations and 14.0 percent of architecture and engineering occupations held by women.
63.0%
The percentage of social scientists who were women in 2012, the heaviest representation of women among all STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Among other STEM fields, women comprised approximately 14.0 percent of engineers, 45.0 percent of mathematicians and statisticians, and 47.0 percent of life scientists. 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% |
14.2%
The percentage of employed women age 16 and older in 2015 who worked in management, business and financial occupations, compared with 15.8 percent of employed men in the same year.
Military
1.6 million
The number of women veterans in the United States in 2015.
Earnings
9.7%
The percentage of married couples in 2016 where the wife earned at least $30,000 more than the husband.
$40,742
The median annual earnings of women age 15 and older who worked full time, year-round in 2015. In comparison, the median annual earnings of men were $51,212.
$0.80
The amount that full-time, year-round female workers earned in 2015 for every dollar their male counterparts earned.
Education
12.5 million
The number of women enrolled in undergraduate college and graduate school in 2015. Women comprised 55.4 percent of all college students (undergraduate and graduate).
30.9%
The percentage of women age 25 and older who had obtained a bachelor’s degree or more as of 2015. The percentage of men age 25 and older who had obtained a bachelor's degree or more as of 2015 was 30.3 percent.
Voting
43.0%
The percentage of female citizens age 18 and older who reported voting in the 2014 election. By comparison, 40.8 percent of their male counterparts reported voting.
Business
$1.4 trillion
The estimated receipts from women-owned firms in the United States in 2012, rising 18.7 percent from $1.2 trillion in 2007.
9.9 million
The estimated number of women-owned firms in the United States in 2012, up from 7.8 million or 26.8 percent in 2007.
35.8%
The estimated percentage of U.S. firms that were owned by women in 2012. They constituted the majority of firms in the health care and social assistance sector (62.5 percent), the educational services sector (54.2 percent) and the “other services” sector (51.8 percent). For comparison, women accounted for 51.4 percent of the 18-and-older population in the United States in 2012.
114,103
The number of women-owned firms that had paid employees and were in business less than two years in the United States in 2014. The health care and social assistance sector had the most women-owned businesses with 177,127 firms or 16.8 percent.
Motherhood
43.5 million
The estimated number of mothers ages 15 to 50 in the United States 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
67.4 million
The number of married women age 18 and older (including those who were separated or had an absent spouse) in 2016.
5.0 million
The number of stay-at-home mothers nationwide in 2016, compared with 209,000 stay-at-home fathers.
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