In 42 days, America could elect its first female president. While barriers still exist, women’s power and prosperity continue to grow across the United States. That’s especially true here in the Golden State.
A new report from WalletHub ranks five California cities among the top 10 for women in the country. Not a single California city made WalletHub’s 10 “worst” list.
WalletHub based the rankings on 15 metrics, ranging from women’s median earnings and job security to hospital quality and abortion access. 182 cities were compared, including the 150 most populous in the U.S.
Best Cities for Women
1. Columbia, MD
2. Fremont, CA
3. Huntington Beach, CA
4. Irvine, CA
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Santa Clarita, CA
7. Washington, DC
8. Juneau, AK
9. Seattle, WA
10. Scottsdale, AZ
Worst Cities for Women
173. Columbus, GA
174. Lubbock, TX
75. Akron, OH
176. Laredo, TX
177. Huntington, WV
178. Shreveport, LA
179. Augusta, GA
180. Brownsville, TX
181. Gulfport, MS
182. Jackson, MS
The large share of women elected to political office may be one reason California fares so much better than the rest of the country in helping women succeed.
“Generally speaking, cities where there is women’s leadership are going to have more services and resources for women,” Monica Taylor, Professor and Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Montclair State University, told WalletHub. “There will be more of a focus on women's issues and supporting women.”
Of the five California cities that made the top ten, all except Santa Clarita have female mayors.
See WalletHub’s full rankings and methodology here.
List and data were compiled by WalletHub and do not reflect statistics on all cities.