Bell County women workers are worse off than their peers nationwide in median real earnings and in comparison to what their male counterparts make, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.

Men workers here also make less than men do elsewhere by a large margin.

Nationwide, men who worked full-time in 2008 had median earnings of $45,500, and women had median earnings of $35,500, or about 80 percent of what men made.

In Texas, women earned about 78 percent of what men made.

And here, they made about 70 percent.

The highest ratio of women's-to-men's earnings were recorded in the District of Columbia at 88 percent.

Education seems to make little difference in closing the gap. American Community Survey data show, for example, that women with less than a high-school diploma had median earnings of $16,200, while men with the same achievement level had earnings of $26,300. Women with a graduate or professional degree had median earnings of $50,200; men at that level had earnings of $65,300.