The Best and Worst State Economies for Women
Four indicators of women’s economic progress are used by the employment and earnings composite index to measure how well women are doing in each state’s economy, which includes women’s earnings, the wage gap, women’s participation in the labor force, and women’s representation in managerial and professional jobs.
Rank |
Best States |
Rank |
Worst States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | District of Columbia | 51. | Arkansas |
| 2. | Maryland | 50. | Louisiana |
| 3. | Massachusetts | 49. | West Virginia |
| 4. | Minnesota | 48. | Mississippi |
| 5. | Vermont | 47. | Kentucky |
| 6. | Connecticut | 46. | Montana |
| New Jersey | 45. | Tennessee | |
| 8. | Colorado | 44. | New Mexico |
Honorable Mentions |
Dishonorable Mentions |
|---|---|
| Virginia | Alabama |
| New Hampshire | Idaho |
| Hawaii | Wyoming |
| Alaska | Oklahoma |
| Texas |
Source: The Status of Women in the States, Dec. 2006, Institute for Women's Policy Research (www.iwpr.org)
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
| Labor and Employment | Occupations with Highest Median Weekly Earnings Among Women, 2006 |



