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The Best — and Worst — US Cities for Women

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Are you a woman? Would you like to be healthy and happy? Choose your city carefully.

A recent study by Measure of America found that a woman’s well-being is strongly linked to where she lives.

The report ranks the 25 most populated cities in the United States using the American Human Development Index, which draws on government data on women’s education, earnings, and life expectancy. Researchers used this data to assign a number to each area on a scale from 0 to 10. Overall, the AHDI for women in these 25 US cities was 5.

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The top three cities on the list were Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Boston. The lowest three evaluated were Riverside-San Bernadino, San Antonio, and Houston.

Washington, DC has an AHDI score of 6.8, and takes the top spot,especially financially. Women in the nation’s capital make an average of $16,000 a year more than women in the lowest ranked area, Riverside-San Bernadino, California. Women there earn an average of $22,300 — just about the national average for all U.S. workers in 1970.

Women in San Francisco have the longest life expectancy: 84.5 years, as opposed to 81.3 nationwide.

Overall, the study found that there were significant differences in health among women based on race and ethnicity. Asian American women were the longest lived group surveyed at 88.6 years — 11 years longer than African American women, on average.

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(Photo Credit: Rob Shenk/Flickr)

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
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