The Best Places for Women to Live in 2019

1. Washington, DC
2. Massachusetts
3. Rhode Island
4. New York
5. Vermont
6. Minnesota
7. Hawaii
8. Delaware
9. Kentucky
10. California

Washington, DC is one of the top US cities for workplace opportunity,¹¹ and women in DC make $0.89 to every dollar a man makes. It’s not perfect, but it’s a smaller gap than almost every official US state.

Plus, only 3.2% of women in DC are uninsured, which is one of the lowest percentages on our list—and city legislators have unanimously supported laws on pregnancy accommodations in the workplace.¹²

If you can handle humid summers, politics, and lots of tourists, it’s worth considering a move to the nation’s capital—whether you’re a working professional, an expectant mom, or both.

• Gender wage gap: $0.89
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 3.2%
• Population of major city: 693,972
• Average rent: $2,217.32
• Post-secondary schools: 33
• Crimes in major city (2017):
  • Rape: 443
  • Violent crime: 6,584
  • Aggravated assault: 3,674
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 116

Massachusetts is the first of several New England states to make the cut for top women-friendly states.

With a 2.9% uninsured rate—the lowest percentage in the country—Massachusetts provides accessible healthcare for women.

Greater access to healthcare also allows greater access to preventive care. And that, coupled with birth control coverage without a copay, deserves all the gold stars.

Plus, with ninety-five post-secondary schools to brag about, Massachusetts offers plenty of opportunities for women to learn and advance in their careers—just ask Elle Woods.

• Gender wage gap: $0.83
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 2.9%
• Population of major cities: 1,139,159
• Average rent: $1,730.39
• Post-secondary schools: 95
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 422
  • Violent crimes: 7,579
  • Aggravated assault: 4,870
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 78

• Boston
• Worcester
• Springfield
• Cambridge

Clearly, the Northeast leads the charge when it comes to progressive, women-friendly efforts.

For example, Rhode Island (the smallest state in the US) boasts an equally small yet highly impressive uninsured rate of 5.1%. While its wage gap of $0.84 isn’t the best on our list, it sure beats some of the lower-ranking states whose gaps are in the $0.70s.

• Gender wage gap: $0.84
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: No
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 5.1%
• Population of major cities: 180,393
• Average rent: $1,335
• Post-secondary schools: 18
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 104
  • Violent crimes: 960
  • Aggravated assault: 589
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 12

• Providence

The Empire State—and its concrete jungle—are where dreams are made. (Just ask Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.) It’s also a great place for women to put down roots.

With a wage gap of $0.88—the second best of any state—New York is taking the right steps forward equality-wise.

While no one is immune to New York’s sky-high housing costs (we’ll thank the Big Apple for that), post-secondary educational opportunities and a low uninsured rate outweigh the cringe-worthy rent checks you’ll sign to live there.

• Gender wage gap: $0.88
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 6.4%
• Population of major cities: 9,533,324
• Average rent: $1,457.92
• Post-secondary schools: 218
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 2,846
  • Violent crimes: 53,611
  • Aggravated assault: 34,009
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 395

• New York City
• Buffalo
• Rochester
• Yonkers
• Syracuse
• Albany

There’s more to Vermont than killer maple syrup and backcountry powder skiing. Time and time again, Vermont is among the safest states in the US.¹³ If living in the Green Mountain State means you might not feel the need to clutch your pepper spray so tightly the next time you’re walking in a parking lot, that’s important.

Vermont also offers birth control coverage without a deductible or copay, which means women have better access to reproductive healthcare without having to jump through all the usual hoops.

• Gender wage gap: $0.86
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 6.1%
• Population of major cities: 42,239
• Average rent: $1,282.69
• Post-secondary schools: 6
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 21
  • Violent crimes: 132
  • Aggravated assault: 99
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 1

• Burlington

The North Star State has a lot to be proud of. Fewer than 5% of Minnesota women are uninsured—better than both New York and Hawaii—and its wage gap is within the $0.80 range.

If you’re willing to brave the cold, Minnesota is a place that’s easy to warm up to.

• Gender wage gap: $0.82
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: No
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 4.8%
• Population of major cities: 930,691
• Average rent: $1,144.50
• Post-secondary schools: 64
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 823
  • Violent crimes: 7,113
  • Aggravated assault: 3,596
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 66

• Minneapolis
• Saint Paul
• Rochester
• Duluth

Instagram-worthy views and sunsets that put your computer desktop to shame are reason enough for anyone to move to Hawaii. The Aloha State is especially good for women: it has the highest women’s life expectancy at birth,¹⁴ and hey, we’ll take as many Hawaiian sunsets as we can get.

Hawaii doesn’t offer birth control coverage without a copay. But only 5% of women are uninsured in Hawaii, which means better coverage for a doctor’s visit—whether it’s for a jellyfish sting or sprained ankle.

Plus, it’s Hawaii—enough said.

• Gender wage gap: $0.81
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: No
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 5.0%
• Population of major cities: 359,870
• Average rent: $1,746.67
• Post-secondary schools: 29
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 285
  • Violent crimes: 2,440
  • Aggravated assault: 1,215
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 32

• Honolulu

Did you know that Delaware has the second-highest median earnings for its female workers?¹⁵ Neither did we. Delaware’s wage gap of $0.86 is better than every state ahead of it on this list except Washington, DC, and New York.

(And let’s not forget that there’s no sales tax in Delaware.)

• Gender wage gap: $0.86
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 6.0%
• Population of major cities: 142,502
• Average rent: $979.16
• Post-secondary schools: 19
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 58
  • Violent crimes: 1,502
  • Aggravated assault: 952
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 39

• Wilmington
• Dover
• Newark

Kentucky is the only southern state on our list, and it has a few stats that set it apart from surrounding states.

In Kentucky’s neighboring states—specifically Mississippi and Alabama—16.8% and 12.8% of women are uninsured, respectively. Meanwhile, the Bluegrass State’s uninsured rate (6.0%) is less than half that of its neighbors.

Plus, Kentucky’s average monthly rent of $742 is lower than any other state in our top ten—which might make it more doable if you live alone.

• Gender wage gap: $0.79
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: No
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 6.0%
• Population of major cities: 1,064,691
• Average rent: $741.99
• Post-secondary schools: 68
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 482
  • Violent crimes: 5,962
  • Aggravated assault: 3,328
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 145

• Louisville
• Lexington
• Bowling Green
• Owensboro

Sure, California has great beaches, A-list celebrities, and cities chock-full of bougie brunch spots to hit on a Sunday morning, but there’s more to the Golden State than its curbside appeal.

California has a lower percentage of uninsured women (8.5%) than other highly populated states. To put it in perspective, that’s less than half of Florida’s 17.1% uninsured rate.

Also, California ranks #1 for the narrowest wage gap. No US state currently tops $0.90 (don’t get us started), but California’s $0.89 comes admirably close.

Of course, housing costs in the Golden State are steep, but that’s the case no matter which direction your gender arrow points.

• Gender wage gap: $0.89
• Birth control coverage without a copay or deductible: Yes
• Uninsured women ages 18–64: 8.5%
• Population of major cities: 8,368,702
• Average rent: $2,044.53
• Post-secondary schools: 321
• Crime in major cities:
  • Rape: 4,225
  • Violent crimes: 52,569
  • Aggravated assault: 28,967
  • Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: 499

• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• San Jose
• San Francisco
• Fresno
• Sacramento

1. Alabama
2. Idaho
3. Mississippi
4. Wyoming
5. South Carolina
6. Louisiana
7. Utah
8. Oklahoma
9. South Dakota
10. Kansas

To determine our rankings, Move.org analyzed seven data points. Four are gender neutral and account for 40% of the overall score; the remaining three are specific to women and account for 60% of the overall score.

Population (10%): This metric represents the population in each state’s major cities.

Rent (10%): To better understand cost of living, we analyzed the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in major cities across the state.

Post-secondary schools (10%): We calculated the number of universities, colleges, and other educational institutions in each state’s major cities to determine the availability of post-secondary education.

Crime data (10%): To determine how safe each state is, we looked at 2017 data on the number of property and violent crimes in major cities as reported to the FBI.

1. Statista, “Total population in the United States by gender from 2010 to 2023 (in millions)*”
2. NPR, “Record Number of Women Will Serve in Congress (With Potentially More To Come)”
3. Pew Research Center, “They’re Waiting Longer, but U.S. Women Today More Likely to Have Children Than a Decade Ago”
4. Wikipedia, “List of largest cities of U.S. states and territories by population”
5. Numbeo, “Cost of Living”
6. UnivSearch, “Colleges and Universities in the United States of America by State/Possession”
7. FBI, "2017 Crime in the United States"
8. Free the Pill, “What’s the law in your state?”
9. 2016 American Community Survey Data, “Wage Gap State Rankings: 2017”
10. National Women’s Law Center, “Resources for State Policymakers”
11. Fortune, “These Are the 10 Best U.S. Cities for Jobs in 2018”
12. National Women's Law Center, "Pregnancy Accommodations in the States"
13. Burlington Free Press, “Vermont ranks No. 1 on safest states list”
14. WalletHub, “Best States for Women”
15. WalletHub, “Best States for Women”