10 Best, Worst Cities for Women

A Maryland metropolis just claimed the top spot in a new ranking of the best US cities for women in 2026. WalletHub analyzed 182 cities using 15 metrics tied to women's earnings, employment, healthcare, and safety and found that Columbia offers a notably strong mix of economic opportunity and well-being. Women there take home the highest cost-of-living-adjusted median annual pay in the country at about $63,900, and the female poverty rate sits at 8.2%, one of the lowest among all cities studied. Read on for the 10 best and worst US cities for women:

Best Cities

1. Columbia, Maryland
2. Seattle
3. Fremont, California
4. South Burlington, Vermont (No. 1 in "Women's Healthcare & Safety" category)
5. Washington, DC
6. San Francisco
7. Overland Park, Kansas
8. Raleigh, North Carolina
9. Gilbert, Arizona
10. Santa Clarita, California

Worst Cities

173. Tulsa, Oklahoma
174. Augusta, Georgia
175. Laredo, Texas
176. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
177. Fort Smith, Arkansas
178. Brownsville, Texas
179. Gulfport, Mississippi
180. Shreveport, Louisiana
181. Huntington, West Virginia (last in "Women's Healthcare & Safety" category)
182. Jackson, Mississippi (last in "Women's Economic & Social Well-Being" category)

See how other cities fare here. (Check out the 10 best coffee cities in America.)