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MPWMost Powerful Women

The Best and Worst Places in the U.S. for Women

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
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By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
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March 5, 2018, 4:32 PM ET

New York and California have their charms, but the best state for a woman in 2018 is Minnesota.

That’s according to personal finance website WalletHub, which compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 23 key indicators of living standards for women (see the full methodology here).

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The Gopher State ranked first on measures of economic and social well-being (which made up 60% of the total score). WalletHub measure this through factors like median earnings, unemployment rates, and the share of women-owned businesses. The rest of the top five, in order: Wisconsin, Vermont, North Dakota, and Maine.

It was also third in terms of women’s health and safety—after Hawaii (no. 1) and Massachusetts (no. 2). Rounding out the top five were Connecticut and New Hampshire. This portion of the score was based on factors such as the quality of women’s health care, depression rates, life expectancy, and obesity.

The worst five states across the board? Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

Click on WalletHub’s interactive map below to see all 50 states’ ranks:

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By Valentina Zarya
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