Powerful Progress: Unveiling Maryland’s Best Cities for Women to Launch Careers

In an article published by Augsburg University in Minneapolis, U.S. cities were ranked based on criteria that indicate the degree to which women are set up to succeed in their careers. In their analysis, two Maryland cities, Baltimore and Frederick made it on the top 15 list coming in at 6th and 9th respectively.

Methodology: How the university ranked the cities
After evaluating 399 U.S. principal cities of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) the university scored and ranked these cities on 12 criteria, including measures of gender equity, such as the wage gap and the gender breakdown of people in management positions, as well as indicators tied to employment, cost of living, public safety, and health care.

Below is the result of their analysis for the cities of Baltimore and Frederick.

Coming in at the 6th spot Baltimore City 

  • Median female earnings: $44,654
  • Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings: 89.2%
  • Female unemployment rate: 6.6%
  • Job growth: 2%
  • Percentage of people in management positions who are women: 53.4%
  • Price level as a percentage of the national price level: 105%
  • Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.6%
  • Violent crime rate: 46 per 10,000 people
  • Access to birth control: 52.3
  • Maternal mortality rate: 18.6 per 100,000 live births
  • Maximum length of paid family leave allowed (in weeks) in the state: 12 
  • Maximum additional paid medical leave allowed for pregnancy and childbirth (in weeks) in the state: 12 

Maryland’s law allows for up to 12 weeks of paid family leave. Employees may take an additional 12 weeks if they experience a serious health condition and are eligible to bond with a new child in the same year. In Baltimore City, specifically, women’s earnings make up 89.2% of men’s, and 53.4% of people in management occupations are women.

Baltimore City’s 2% job growth is relatively low (35th percentile). Also, its price level as a percentage of the national level is 105%.

Coming in at the 9th spot Frederick City, Frederick County 

  • Median female earnings: $49,623
  • Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings: 94.6%
  • Female unemployment rate: 6.5%
  • Job growth: 1.1%
  • Percentage of people in management positions who are women: 44.6%
  • Price level as a percentage of the national price level: 111%
  • Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.6%
  • Violent crime rate: 46 per 10,000 people
  • Access to birth control: 52.3
  • Maternal mortality rate: 18.6 per 100,000 live births
  • Maximum length of paid family leave allowed (in weeks) in the state: 12 
  • Maximum additional paid medical leave allowed for pregnancy and childbirth (in weeks) in the state: 12 

Women’s earnings make up 94.6% of men’s in Frederick, Maryland. It’s in the 86th percentile for median salary for women ($49,623) and, being in Maryland, also benefits from the same paid leave law as No. 6-ranking Baltimore.

Job growth in Frederick was 1.1%, which puts the city in the 18th percentile. Its price level of 111% of the national level is higher than 86% of cities in our data set. The female unemployment rate in Frederick is 6.5%, which is higher than more than half of the cities we examined.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of their data sources:

See the link for the full article and details on other core metrics.