Columbia, Maryland is named the best US city for WOMEN to live in, while Jackson, Mississippi, is the worst city
- Researchers ranked 182 out of 100 cities in terms of ‘economic and social well-being’ of women and ‘healthcare and safety’
- columbia, MD came out on top overall with a score of 73.96
- Jackson, Mississippi, is considered the worst, with a score of just 26.8
Columbia, Maryland has been named the best city in the US for women to live in, according to a new study.
The community 20 miles south of Baltimore has the highest median income for female workers, along with one of the highest scores for women’s health care and safety.
Women in the area can expect an average salary of $51,526 when adjusted for the cost of living, three times that of women in Anaheim, California, where average salaries are the lowest.
The city also ranked sixth in women’s safety and access to health care, based on metrics such as the quality of women’s hospitals and female suicide rates.
Professors Diane F. Halpern and Laurie Finke compared data from 182 cities on 15 key indicators of women’s living standards to determine the results. Overall, they scored the city 73.96 out of a possible 100.
Researchers ranked criteria around women’s economic and social well-being alongside health data to rank 182 US cities as the best and worst places for women to live
Columbia, Maryland, came out on top as the best place for women to live due to its above-average average salary and the quality of healthcare and access for women.
Women make up nearly 52 percent of Columbia’s population, representing approximately 54,000 residents, according to the most recent census.
After Columbia, South Burlington, VT was the best city for women, followed by three California cities: Irvine, Fremont and Santa Clarita.
Meanwhile, in Mississippi, Jackson was labeled the worst place for women to live with a score of just 26.8. Wallet Hub.
This was preceded by Gulfport, about 160 miles away, then Brownsville, Texas, Huntington, West Virginia, and Shreveport, Louisiana.
The researchers analyzed standards for women’s “economic and social well-being” and “health care and safety” for 150 of the most populous U.S. cities, including at least two of the most populous cities in every state.
Charleston, South Carolina came out on top for women’s economic and social well-being, while Yonkers, New York, came out on top for women’s health care and safety.
Unemployment rates are lowest in Portland, Maine, while in Detroit, Michigan, where rates are highest, they were seven times higher.
Pearl City, Hawaii has the lowest poverty among women, but the highest in Huntington, where it is about seven times higher. Life expectancy for women in the West Virginia city is also the lowest for the entire country.
By comparison, women in San Jose, California, can expect to live the longest. Other factors compared included the number of women-owned businesses, the number of active and obese women, and the percentage of uninsured women.