With March being Women’s History Month and women experiencing 55% of the net job losses since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst States for Women, as well as accompanying videos.
To identify the most women-friendly states, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 26 key metrics. The data set ranges from median earnings for female workers to women’s preventive health care to the female homicide rate.| Best States for Women | Worst States for Women |
| 1. Minnesota | 42. New Mexico |
| 2. Maine | 43. West Virginia |
| 3. Vermont | 44. Nevada |
| 4. North Dakota | 45. Texas |
| 5. District of Columbia | 46. South Carolina |
| 6. Iowa | 47. Oklahoma |
| 7. Washington | 48. Louisiana |
| 8. Massachusetts | 49. Arkansas |
| 9. Wisconsin | 50. Alabama |
| 10. South Dakota | 51. Mississippi |
Best vs. Worst
- The District of Columbia has the highest median earnings for female workers (adjusted for cost of living), $35,574, which is 1.5 times higher than in California, the lowest at $23,049.
- The District of Columbia has the highest share of women who voted in the 2016 presidential election, 77.20 percent, which is 1.6 times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest at 49.30 percent.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of women living in poverty, 8.30 percent, which is 2.7 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 22.30 percent.
- Alaska has the highest share of women-owned businesses, 22.87 percent, which is 1.6 times higher than in South Dakota, the lowest at 14.04 percent.
- Massachusetts has the lowest female uninsured rate, 2.10 percent, which is 7.9 times lower than in Texas, the highest at 16.50 percent.
