Wallethub names best and worst U.S. cities for women’s well-being

WalletHub ranked Columbia, Maryland, as the top U.S. city for women in 2026, followed by Seattle and Fremont, California. The personal finance site compared 182 cities across 15 measures of women’s economic and social well-being, health care and safety. Columbia had the highest cost-of-living-adjusted median annual wages for women, at $63,920, while 8.2% of women lived in poverty. Seattle ranked second, with women earning a median $50,138 annually after adjusting for cost of living, and 3.4% uninsured. The 10 highest-ranked cities also included South Burlington, Vermont; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Overland Park, Kansas; Raleigh, North Carolina, Gilbert, Arizona; and Santa Clarita, California.