7. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area
> Women’s pay as a pct. of men’s: 86.4%
> Median earnings for men: $51,903
> Median earnings for women: $44,853

Albany metro area residents were relatively well educated, with more than a third of both men and women having at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2013, higher than the respective national rates. However, women in the area were paid more fairly in relatively low-paying occupations requiring low levels of education than in higher paying, higher-skilled jobs. The median earnings of female food preparation and serving related workers, for example, were $22,235, only slightly lower than the median earnings of their male counterparts. Women in education jobs, which require higher levels of education, had median earnings 73.7% of what men earned, one of the lowest such shares among large metro areas. Women also made up a majority of education occupations in the area.

6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area
> Women’s pay as a pct. of men’s: 86.4%
> Median earnings for men: $40,079
> Median earnings for women: $34,644

Women represented just 5.2% of fire fighting and prevention workers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area. They had median earnings of $31,009, however, in line with the median earnings of men working similar jobs. Women working in art-related jobs were also paid on par with men in the occupation, although median earnings for both sexes were lower than the comparable national figures. In community and social service occupations, women made up a majority of the workforce, and also had higher median earnings than men in similar jobs. This helped narrow the overall pay gap in the area.

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5. Tucson, AZ Metro Area
> Women’s pay as a pct. of men’s: 86.8%
> Median earnings for men: $41,994
> Median earnings for women: $36,467

In computer and mathematical occupations, architectural and engineering jobs, and science fields, women comprised a minority of workers, and they were also paid far less fairly than women working in those fields across the country. Relatively equal pay in other occupations made up for those disparities, contributing to the metro’s fifth-best overall gender pay ratio of 86.8%. The median pay for women in buildings and grounds occupations, for example, was $21,226, 95.7% of what men earned in similar jobs, one of the highest such shares. Additionally, women in legal professions had median earnings of $48,104, lower than the national median earnings for women in the field but also 77.3% what men earned. While this figure is not especially high compared to ratios in other occupations, it was substantially better than the comparable national ratio of 52.6% in legal professions.