An employee works at Voltage Multipliers, an electronics manufacturer in Visalia, in this March 2021 file photo by Frank Lopez.

A new study ranks Fresno among the top three places with the smallest wage gap between men and women in the U.S.

Fresno came in at No. 3 for equal pay in the study by employment background check provider GoodHire, with female workers earning 89% of the salary of their male counterparts.

Median income for men was $46,493 in the Fresno metro area, while median income for women was $41,462. To reach equal pay, Fresno women would have to work 32 extra days compared to their male counterparts.

The Los Angeles metro area was No. 1 on the list, with women making 91% of what their male counterparts make, followed by Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina at No. 2 with 90%.

Of the top 5 best cities for equal pay, Fresno didn’t report the lowest median incomes. In No. 4 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, men make $2,565 less and women $2,351 less than in Fresno. For No. 5 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida, men make $1,623 less and women $2,019 less than in Fresno.

The national average for comparative pay was 81% — $54,323 for men and $44,220 for women.

Provo, Utah ranked at the bottom of the list at No. 100, with women earning on average 62% of men — $60,302 compared to $37,423. Women in Provo would have to work 159 extra days to reach parity with men.

“One way to set your organization apart from the competition is to prioritize pay equity as a business goal–and many businesses are taking note,” according to GoodHire. “A recent Payscale survey showed 66% of organizations are planning a pay equity analysis in 2022, the first year this type of initiative has been planned by over half of surveyed organizations. Businesses that offer equal pay are more effective in creating a competitive workforce which leads to many organizational benefits: demonstrating key values to employees, attracting top talent, increasing motivation, improving retention, and aligning corporate social responsibilities.”