These Are The Best Cities For Working Women

With nearly half the U.S. workforce made up of women these days, you'd think paychecks would start to reflect the same kind of equity.

But working women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts take home, and a recent report by Institute for Women's Policy Research estimated it could take until 2057 for the wage gap to close.

Today's women can't wait that long. 

In an interesting new report, Nerdwallet.com has analyzed 366 metro areas (categorized into small, medium and large sizes) to figure out where women have the best shot at not only earning more but having a higher quality of life. 

"People want to work in a high-growth city with a lot of job potential and growth potential," Divya Raghavan, an analyst for NerdWallet, told us. "In a lot of our research we found that California and Texas tend to be ... tech hubs and they're growing really quickly with good job prospects."

Napa, Calif.

Napa, known as wine country, has a low gender pay gap and a high median salary for women.  The city is good for jobs in tourism and health care.

Median earnings for women: $46,949

Women's earnings as a percentage of men's: 91.6%

Population growth: 0.9%

Overall score: 63.7

Source: NerdWallet's study "Best Places For Women In The Workforce"

Hinesville-Fort Stewart, Ga.

Hinesville and Fort Stewart’s forests and streams make it a picturesque city for nature lovers. The metro area is growing rapidly.

Median earnings for women: $31,962

Women's earnings as a percentage of men's: 85.2%

Population growth: 4.1%

Overall score: 63.2

Source: NerdWallet's study "Best Places For Women In The Workforce"

Auburn-Opelika, Ala.

Home to Auburn University, this metro area has many highly educated residents and is known for its research firms. It also has a small gender pay gap and high population growth.

Median earnings for women: $39,802

Women's earnings as a percentage of men's: 91.1%

Population growth: 1.9%

Overall score: 62

Source: NerdWallet's study "Best Places For Women In The Workforce"

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