On the heels of International Women's Day (a couple of weeks ago on March 8th), a new study ranks the best states for women. 

And, it seems as though the Midwest is a great spot.

According to a report from personal-finance site WalletHub, the very best state in the U.S. for women is our Midwestern neighbor, Minnesota.

Here's what WalletHub took into account when coming up with the numbers:

In order to determine how women are faring and where they can find the best opportunities relative to where they live, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 23 key indicators of living standards for women. Our data set ranges from median earnings for female workers to women’s preventive health care to female homicide rate.

First let's look at the 5 best states for women (although I've already given you #1):

1) Minnesota

2) Massachussetts

3) Vermont

4) North Dakota

5) Wisconsin

Here are the states holding the bottom five spots:

47) Alabama

48) Oklahoma

49) Mississippi

50) Arkansas

51) Louisiana

So, where does Illinois fit in? We come in at the #11 spot. Here's a breakdown of Illinois' numbers:

Woman-Friendliness of Illinois (1=Best, 25=Avg.):

  • 5th – Median Earnings for Female Workers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
  • 24th – Share of Women in Poverty
  • 16th – Share of Women-Owned Businesses
  • 28th – High School Graduation Rate for Women
  • 23rd – Share of Women Who Voted in 2016 Presidential Election
  • 19th – Female Uninsured Rate
  • 25th – Women’s Life Expectancy at Birth
  • 18th – Quality of Women’s Hospitals
  • 13th – Women’s Preventive Health Care

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