U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
November 30, 2007
In 2005, 26 percent of working wives whose husbands also worked earned more than their husbands.
This is up from 18 percent in 1987.
Among all married-couple families in which the wife (but not necessarily the husband) had earnings from work in 2005, 33 percent of the wives earned more than their husbands. This is about a third higher than the 1987 figure of 24 percent.
These data on earnings are from the Current Population Survey. For more information see "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2007 Edition)," BLS Report 1002.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Wives who earn more than their husbands, 1987-2005 on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2007/nov/wk4/art05.htm (visited May 21, 2013).
This edition of Spotlight on Statistics examines labor productivity trends from 2000 through 2010 for selected industries and sectors within the nonfarm business sector of the U.S. economy. Read more »
