Graphic: State of Equal Pay in Massachusetts

Boston, MA - Massachusetts' gender pay gap is middling-low compared to other states around the country, numbers out from Congress' Joint Economic Committee this month show.

On a percentage basis, a 21-point difference spans pay between the average male worker and female. This can translate to more than a half-million dollars less over a lifetime of earnings, according to an April 2016 Joint Economic Committee report prepared by Democratic staffers. These lifetime pay gaps come back to hurt women in retirement, and disproportionately impact women of color, the report said.

In Massachusetts, this gap is slightly narrower, at 18 percent. That means women here earn 82 percent of the median male salary. Across the country, those numbers range from a 10-point percentage difference in Washington, D.C., to a 35 percent gap in Louisiana.

You can read the report in full here, and see how Massachusetts compares below:

Tuesday marks national Equal Pay Day. The Massachusetts state Senate passed legislation targeting the wage gap in February.