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Columbia, Maryland, is the best city in the United States for women, according to a new WalletHub ranking that compared 182 cities on measures ranging from women’s earnings and employment to health care and safety.
Seattle ranked second, followed by Fremont, California, South Burlington, Vermont, and Washington, DC, in the top five.
Jackson, Mississippi, ranked last in the study at No. 182. Huntington, West Virginia; Shreveport, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Brownsville, Texas, rounded out the bottom five.
WalletHub’s ranking was based on 15 measures divided into two categories: women’s economic and social well-being, which accounted for 60% of the overall score, and women’s health care and safety, which accounted for 40%.
Here’s a closer look.
Which cities ranked highest?
Columbia received a score of 78.20 out of 100. It ranked second in women’s economic and social well-being and third in health care and safety.
One of Columbia’s strongest measures was women’s earnings. The city had the highest median annual earnings for female workers after adjusting for the cost of living, at $63,920, according to WalletHub.
Women in Columbia also had an unemployment rate of just over 3%, while 8.2% lived in poverty. About 23% of businesses were owned by women, according to the study.
Seattle, which scored 72.85, ranked particularly well on economic and health measures. Women there had median annual earnings of $50,138 after adjusting for the cost of living, while about 3.4% of women lacked health insurance.
Fremont scored 71.93 and stood out for several health measures. WalletHub said the city had the lowest percentage of women without health insurance and the fourth-lowest obesity rate among women. Women’s life expectancy at birth was nearly 85 years.
Here are the top 10:
- Columbia, Maryland
- Seattle
- Fremont, California
- South Burlington, Vermont
- Washington, DC
- San Francisco
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Santa Clarita, California
Which cities ranked lowest?
Jackson received a score of 24.17, placing it last overall and last in the economic and social well-being category. It ranked 179th in health care and safety.
Huntington ranked 181st, followed by Shreveport at No. 180, Gulfport at No. 179 and Brownsville at No. 178.
Ohio cities generally ranked toward the lower half of the list. Columbus ranked 108th, followed by Cincinnati at No. 140, Cleveland at No. 158, Akron at No. 169 and Toledo at No. 171.
Here are the bottom ten:
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Huntington, West Virginia
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Gulfport, Mississippi
- Brownsville, Texas
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Laredo, Texas
- Augusta, Georgia
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
How were the cities ranked?
WalletHub compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities along with at least two of the most populated cities in each state. The analysis focused on the city proper rather than surrounding metropolitan areas.
The 15 measures included women’s earnings, unemployment, job security, poverty, women-owned businesses, women’s hospital quality, health insurance coverage, preventive health care, physical activity, obesity and life expectancy. WalletHub also included abortion policies and access as a measure of health care and safety.
The data were collected as of Aug. 24, 2026, from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FBI, Guttmacher Institute and U.S. News & World Report.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT