We Rate the States: The Best (and Worst) Places for Young Women

This exclusive new report spells it all out: which states are best (and worst) for your health, happiness, salary, everything.

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Let’s play a quick game of Guess Who. You’re on a plane, sandwiched between two young women: one from Washington, D.C., the other from Nevada. Who do you think is more likely to be the bigger drinker? Nope—not the one who lives near Las Vegas; the answer is Miss D.C., since young women there binge-drink more than in any other area of the country. Wondering how else the 50 states and D.C. differ on key female issues? The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) has answers. For the last 28 years, the IWPR has been compiling facts like these, building the ultimate database on women in every state in America (plus D.C.). This spring IWPR is releasing its latest report—and in this groundbreaking Glamour exclusive, its experts have analyzed state-by-state numbers specifically on younger women. Yes, “as a young woman, your choices matter,” says Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., president of IWPR. “But our data show that where you live also matters a great deal: Your state can affect how much it costs to go to college, how much you will earn, how much child care will cost you, your overall health, and much, much more.” Whether you’re considering a move to a new state or are curious about how you, a woman in, say, Idaho or Missouri, can get a salary more like a woman in Maryland’s, read on. Insight ahead!

Read more at Glamour.com.