Over recent decades, things have improved for women in the workplace, finances, politics, health, and the home. I can remember when I couldn’t get a credit card in my own name. However, more improvement is needed. And, we’ve experienced a temporary setback with President Trump’s administration firing women just because they’re woman, with some administration officials saying they didn’t deserve their promotions.
WalletHub, a personal finance website, has released a report on the “Best & Worst Cities for Women in 2026,” to identify the places that provide the best conditions for women’s economic status, health, and safety.
It compared 182 cities across 15 metrics. The data set ranges from the median earnings and unemployment rate for women to the quality of women’s hospitals and access to preventative healthcare.
Top cities for women
1.Columbia, Md.
2. Seattle
3. Fremont, Calif.
4. South Burlington, Vt.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. San Francisco
7, Overland Park, Kan.
8. Raleigh, N.C.
9. Gilbert, Ariz.
10. Santa Clarita, Calif.
Worst cities for women
173.Tulsa, Okla.
174. Agusta, Ga.
175. Laredo, Texas
176. Baton Rouge, La.
177. Fort Smith, Ariz.
178. Brownsville, Texas
179. Gulfport, Miss.
180. Shreveport, La.
181. Huntington, W.Va.
182. Jackson, Miss.
“Women should look beyond salary and cost of living to consider whether a city’s institutions make it realistically possible to build a healthy and economically secure life,” Emily C. Tanner, Ph.D., associate professor at West Virginia University, said in an email. “A high salary may not translate into opportunity if housing, childcare, transportation, or healthcare are inaccessible or unaffordable. Healthcare should be evaluated in terms of actual access, not merely whether a hospital or provider exists.”
Tanner said women should consider the availability of primary, reproductive, maternity, and mental healthcare; travel and wait times; insurance acceptance; and what happens when specialized or emergency care is needed.
“Women should also examine employment opportunities, wage equity, paid-leave protections, workplace flexibility, safety, political representation, and the availability of support networks,” she said. “These conditions are interconnected. For example, inadequate childcare can restrict employment, while limited transportation can restrict both healthcare and work.”
