Sparkly coastal metropolises like New York and San Francisco may get the lion’s share of attention from the business press, but maybe it’s time we gave Madison, Wisconsin, or Plano, Texas, a second look.
Those two locations topped the list of cities with the most favorable conditions for women workers, according to a new report from SmartAsset. To determine the rankings for its second annual “where women are most successful” list, the financial technology company analyzed a number of economic factors, including median earnings, housing costs, the percentage of businesses owned by women, and the unemployment rate among women workers. The result is a diverse mix of cities that includes off-the-beaten-path locales like Chandler, Arizona, along with notable tech hubs like Seattle.
Wisconsin’s capital came in first in part because of its impressively low unemployment rate among women, 1.6%, the lowest of any city in the study.
“The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that women earn approximately 80% of what men do,” wrote SmartAsset’s Derek Silva. “Though the work to achieve pay gap equity is far from finished, it’s important to recognize the areas in which women in the workforce are making progress now in order to build upon these achievements in the future.”
Here’s the full list:
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Plano, Texas
- Arlington, Virginia
- Seattle
- Minneapolis
- Durham, North Carolina
- Chandler, Arizona
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Freemont, California
- Alexandria, Virginia
Check out the full report here.
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