Best and Worst States for Women
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A recent analysis looked at gender pay gaps, paid family leave, child care costs and domestic violence rates among other things.
Massachusetts tops the list as the best state for women to live, while Alabama ranks as the worst state for women, according to a report by Wise Voter.
To rank the best and worst states for women in the U.S., the organization compared the 50 states across six categories: employment and earnings; work and family; health and well-being; safety; politics; and education. Among the many things analyzed were gender pay gaps, paid family leave, child care and health care costs, mental health issues and domestic violence rates.
Following Massachusetts as the best states for women are:
| Overall Rank | State |
| 2 | Minnesota |
| 3 | New Jersey |
| 4 | Rhode Island |
| 5 | Connecticut |
| 6 | Maryland |
| 7 | Vermont |
| 8 | New York |
| 9 | Virginia |
| 10 | Colorado |
Preceding Alabama as the worst states for women are:
| Overall Rank | State |
| 49 | Oklahoma |
| 48 | West Virginia |
| 47 | Arkansas |
| 46 | Mississippi |
| 45 | Louisiana |
| 44 | Nevada |
| 43 | South Carolina |
| 42 | Indiana |
| 41 | Kentucky |
Wise Voter also ranked the states with the most and least women-owned businesses. Wyoming ranks as No. 1 followed by New Mexico, Oregon, Hawaii and Washington. Pennsylvania came in last with the least women-owned businesses. States preceding Pennsylvania are New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire.
Women-owned businesses were more adversely affected by the pandemic than other businesses, but the strong public health policy response to Covid-19 reduced the observed gap in performance, according to a working paper by a group of academic researchers.
Connecticut ranks as No. 1 while Mississippi ranks last among states for the highest weekly earnings for women. States following Connecticut are Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. States right above Mississippi with the lowest weekly earnings for women are Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia and Oklahoma.
In addition, the report looks at which states have the best and worst child-care benefits. Iowa ranks as No. 1 followed by South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Alaska came in last for child-care benefits. States preceding Alaska are Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York.
For more information from the Wise Voter report click here.
Andre Claudio is an assistant editor at Route Fifty.
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