10 Surprising Facts About the State of Women

Women earn just 77 cents for every dollar men earn. They are underrepresented in Congress. Girls are far less likely than boys to choose to study science and math in college, and they under-index when it comes to fields like computer engineering and mechanics.

That’s all pretty common knowledge. But the left-leaning Center for American Progress has released an analysis of how women fare in each of the 50 states across the nation and there are some figures that will probably surprise you.

Here are 10 facts about the status of women in the United States you probably didn’t know:

1. It (sort of) pays to be a woman in Vermont. Women in the northern state earn nearly 85 cents for every dollar men earn, far more than in most other states. But that figure drops to just 64 cents for women in Wyoming.

2. Almost all women in Vermont, Wisconsin, Hawaii and Massachusetts have health insurance. But nearly a quarter of non-elderly women in Texas go without it.

3. There is only one OB-GYN for every 18,713 women in Oklahoma.

4. California has the fourth smallest wage gap between men and women in the nation. But it has the biggest gap when you compare what Hispanic women earn to what white men make: just 44 cents for every dollar.

5. Women in the Unites States already face higher risks of death when they give birth than women in 40 other countries, but moms-to-be in Georgia fare even worse. The state has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, with about 21 deaths per 100,000 live births.

6. The report ranks Maryland as the best state overall in the nation for women and Louisiana as the worst when it comes economics, leadership and health.

7. Nebraska spends $2,094 per child enrolled in a state pre-kindergarten program. Connecticut spends $11,725.

8. When it comes to management jobs, women in Alaska fare best. Nearly 44 percent of management jobs in the state are held by women. By contrast, fewer than 29 percent of management positions in North Dakota are held by women.

9. Mississippi has the highest infant mortality rate in the country at 9.67 deaths per 1,000 infants under one year of age.

10. Half of Nevada’s statewide elected executive offices are held by women. Fifteen states have no women in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate.

Emily DeRuy is a Washington, D.C.-based associate editor, covering education, reproductive rights, and inequality. A San Francisco native, she enjoys Giants baseball and misses Philz terribly.