As the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements take the nation by storm, personal finance website WalletHub published its 2018 ranking of the best and worst states for women's equality to determine how women fare across the country.
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Analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions: women’s economic and social well-being plus women’s health and safety.
The two main categories were assessed using 23 relevant indicators, such as median earnings, share of women in poverty, female uninsured rate, female homicide rate and more. All data used to create the ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other reputable sources.
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Of all the states in the country, Minnesota earned top honors on the list, ranking first for women’s economic and social well-being and third in women’s health and safety.
The worst state for women? Louisiana.
Georgia came in at No. 43 on the list (or ninth worst). Here’s more on how Georgia fared:
- Overall rank: 43
- Women's economic and social well-being: 43
- Women's health and safety: 39
- Highest unemployment rate for women: 47
- Lowest high school graduate rate for women: 49
- Highest female uninsured rate: 46
Despite its low rank, Georgia was recognized among the top five states in the country for the highest percentage of women-owned businesses.
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Georgia also improved from its No. 5 rank last year and from its No. 2 rank in 2016.
WalletHub researchers noted that blue states were found to be significantly more women-friendly than red states.
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In fact, the average rank for blue states was around 15.67, whereas red states averaged around 33.23 on the list.
Here are the top 10 best and worst states for women in 2018, according to WalletHub:
10 best states for women
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- Vermont
- North Dakota
- Wisconsin
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Connecticut
- Iowa
- New Hampshire
10 worst states for women
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
- Nevada
- Georgia
- Texas
Explore the full study and its methodology at wallethub.com.
