Texas Ranked Among Worst States For Women

Texas has been ranked as one of the 10 worst states for women according to a new report from personal-finance website WalletHub. The organization compared the 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 24 metrics, including the median earnings for women, women’s preventive health care, and female homicide rate, WalletHub said in a news release.

Along with its ranking, WalletHub pointed out how women only hold 23.7 percent of the seats in Congress despite making up 51 percent of the U.S. population. WalletHub compiled its report using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Injury Prevention, and the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation, among other sources.

The best state for women was Minnesota followed by Massachusetts. The worst state for women was Louisiana followed by Mississippi. Texas was ranked 42nd. Texas had the highest uninsured rate for women.

Some other stats and trends reported by WalletHub:

• The District of Columbia has the highest median earnings for female workers (adjusted for cost of living), $34,417, which is 1.5 times higher than in California, the lowest at $22,508.
• The District of Columbia has the highest share of women who voted in the 2016 presidential election, 77.2 percent, which is 1.6 times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest at 49.3 percent.
• New Hampshire has the lowest share of women living in poverty, 8.9 percent, which is 2.6 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 23.5 percent.
• Alaska has the highest share of women-owned businesses, 22.87 percent, which is 1.6 times higher than in South Dakota, the lowest at 14.04 percent.
• Massachusetts has the lowest female uninsured rate, 2.3 percent, which is 7.6 times lower than in Texas, the highest at 17.5 percent.