The home of Mayo Clinic and Destination Medical Center recently received top honors as the country’s best midsize city for women in the workforce, as ranked by consumer financial website NerdWallet.
“A strong employment picture paired with Rochester’s affordability — the lowest percent of women’s earnings are spent on rent for midsize cities on our list — makes the city an attractive place for women,” NerdWallet reports.
Nationally, women earn about 78 cents for every $1 a man makes when working in the same position, according to the site. But not so, here in Minnesota. Not only did Rochester come out on top for best midsize city, Minneapolis ranked No. 2 among large cities, coming in behind Durham, North Carolina.
In 2013, the jobless rate for women [in Rochester] was 3.7% or 0.3% below male unemployment.
— NerdWallet.com analysis of U.S. Census data
Elements common to both large and midsize cities where women thrive in the workforce include having a large health care employment sector and geography. The Midwest is best for working women, NerdWallet reported.
Factors given equal weight in the ranking were:
- Pay gap
- Cost of living
- Labor force participation
- Economic health
Below is the top-20 list, as prepared by NerdWallet. Visit the site to read more about the study and methodology.
https://dmc.mn/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NerdWallet-Rankings.pdf