Columbia, Maryland has been named the best city in the United States for women in a new 2026 study from personal-finance company WalletHub.
WalletHub compared 182 cities across 15 metrics designed to measure conditions for women in two broad areas – economic and social well-being, and health and safety. Factors included median earnings for women, the female unemployment rate, poverty, the quality of women’s hospitals and access to preventive healthcare.
Columbia finished No. 1 overall, ahead of Seattle, Washington; Fremont, California; South Burlington, Vermont; and nearby Washington, DC, which ranked fifth nationally. The remainder of the top 10 consisted of San Francisco, California; Overland Park, Kansas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Gilbert, Arizona; and Santa Clarita, California.
Columbia also stood out in one of the individual measures included in the study. According to WalletHub, Columbia had the highest median earnings for female workers after adjusting for cost of living. The figure was three times higher than Santa Ana, California, which had the lowest adjusted median earnings for women among the cities studied.
Somewhat nearby aread also had a notable showing in the study. In addition to Washington, DC ranking fifth overall, four Virginia cities, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News and Norfolk, tied for the highest share of women-owned businesses in the country. WalletHub reported that their share was 2.2 times higher than Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which had the lowest.
WalletHub’s study evaluated 182 cities, including the 150 most populated U.S. cities as well as at least two of the most populated cities in each state. The rankings were based on 15 metrics, with each city receiving scores based on economic and social well-being as well as health and safety.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-cities-for-women/127627
