From health care needs to gender pay gaps, women have to consider multiple factors when deciding where to set down roots. WalletHub took a peek at more than 180 of the biggest cities in the nation to try to determine where the ladies are best off, examining 15 metrics in two main categories: women's economic and social well-being, which encompasses everything from earnings, job security, and unemployment rates to the share of women-owned businesses; and women's health care and safety, which covers abortion access, quality of women's hospitals, women's suicide rates, and the like. The site's findings: The Maryland city of Columbia appears to be the best bet, with a decent job market, low poverty rate, and good life expectancy for women. Jackson, Mississippi, comes in last on the list. The top and bottom 10:
Best cities
- Columbia, Maryland (No. 1 in "Women's Economic/Social Well-Being" category)
- Seattle
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- South Burlington, Vermont
- Fremont, California
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Minneapolis
- Durham, North Carolina
- Jersey City, New Jersey
Worst cities
- Mobile, Alabama
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Brownsville, Texas
- Augusta, Georgia
- Gulfport, Mississippi
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Huntington, West Virginia (last in "Women's Health Care/Safety" category)
- Jackson, Mississippi
See where other cities landed on the list
here. (These are the
best states for women.)