WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Finding the perfect city to call home can be challenging, especially for women looking for a safe place to flourish.

A new analysis from WalletHub determined which metro areas in the United States are best and worst for women to thrive and maximize their potential.

The personal finance website compared 182 cities, including 150 of the nation’s most populous, and scored them based on factors that could shape a woman’s quality of life.

Experts weighed metrics like job security, poverty, social well-being, safety, suicide rates and healthcare access when ranking each city.

Two West Virginia cities were on the list, and ranked fairly low. Charleston came in at 176th out of 182 with an overall score of 36.84. Huntington ranked even lower at 179th out of 182 with an overall score of 33.74.

For women’s economic and social well-being, Charleston ranked 154th while Huntington earned a rank of 175th. In the category of women’s healthcare and safety, Charleston was ranked 176th while Huntington came in at 175th.

Columbia, Maryland, ranked No. 1 overall on the list of best cities. The top city also had the highest median earnings for female workers when considering the cost of living.

The analysis noted that living in a city with better earnings potential may help set women up for future financial success because the gender wage gap usually widens with age.

Mostly West and East Coast cities rounded out the rest of the top 10.

Best cities for women

  1. Columbia, MD
  2. South Burlington, VT
  3. Irvine, CA
  4. Fremont, CA
  5. Santa Clarita, CA
  6. Seattle, WA
  7. Gilbert, AZ
  8. Overland Park, KS
  9. Yonkers, NY
  10. Pearl City, HI

As for the worst city overall, Jackson, Mississippi, took the No. 1 spot. The analysis also determined that Jackson had one of the highest unemployment rates for women.

Worst cities for women

  1. Jackson, MS
  2. Gulfport, MS
  3. Brownsville, TX
  4. Huntington, WV
  5. Shreveport, LA
  6. Augusta, GA
  7. Charleston, WV
  8. Laredo, TX
  9. Mobile, AL
  10. New Orleans, LA

The full report, along with a breakdown of the metrics used to rank each city, can be viewed at WalletHub.