The Census Bureau recently released its national poverty, income and health insurance data for 2025, finding that Black women’s earnings still lag behind, even as the wage gap for women overall narrowed.
As the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) noted in a recent analysis of the new Census Bureau data, full-time, year-round women workers were paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2025, up from 81 cents in 2024.
Black women, however, were the only group of women working full time all year long to see their wage gap widen in 2025, according to NWLC’s analysis. In 2025, Black women were paid just 64 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, down from 65 cents in 2024 and 69 cents in 2022.
The NWLC does caution that these figures “do not reflect the current state of poverty in the U.S., since this Census data from 2025 does not capture the full impact of federal policy changes imposed by the Trump administration.”
While the just-released Census figures suggest “some important progress for women, that isn’t the full story,” said Emily Martin, NWLC chief program officer, in a statement.
“For one, these numbers do not reflect the impacts of the Republican-passed tax and budget bill, which are already affecting women’s ability to afford basic family needs,” Martin added.
“Furthermore, Black women experienced a widening wage gap and saw their uninsurance rates go up compared to last year. These findings, alongside sustained high unemployment rates among Black women, reflect an alarming trend.”
19 October 2026
Category
HR News Article
