Columbia, Md., is the best U.S. city for women in 2026, according to a Sept. 21 ranking from personal finance website WalletHub.
To develop the list, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across 15 metrics spanning two categories: women’s economic and social well-being and women’s healthcare and safety.
The economic and social metrics included median earnings for female workers adjusted for cost of living, unemployment rate for women, share of women living in poverty and share of women-owned businesses. The healthcare and safety metrics included quality of women’s hospitals, female uninsured rate, women’s preventive healthcare and life expectancy at birth for women.
Columbia’s top finish is tied in part to its labor market: the city has the highest median annual wages for women after adjusting for cost of living, at $63,920, along with an 8.2% poverty rate for women, the eighth-lowest in the country. Women in Columbia also fare well on health measures, including the 10th-best life expectancy at birth and the third-highest share of women who have received a mammogram in the past two years.
Here are the 10 overall best and worst cities for women in the U.S., per WalletHub, along with their women’s healthcare and safety rank:
10 best
1. Columbia, Md. (3)
2. Seattle (19)
3. Fremont, Calif. (5)
4. South Burlington, Vt. (1)
5. Washington, D.C. (23)
6. San Francisco (9)
7. Overland Park, Kan. (49)
8. Raleigh, N.C. (64)
9. Gilbert, Ariz. (68)
10. Santa Clarita, Calif. (6)
10 worst
173. Tulsa, Okla. (180)
174. Augusta, Ga. (176)
175. Laredo, Texas (175)
176. Baton Rouge, La. (134)
177. Fort Smith, Ark. (181)
178. Brownsville, Texas (172)
179. Gulfport, Miss. (177)
180. Shreveport, La. (171)
181. Huntington, W.Va. (182)
182. Jackson, Miss. (179)
