Portland, Maine, Shines as One of America’s Best Cities for Women

The lovely Portland, Maine — a city known for its beauty, delicious food, vibrant culture, friendly locals, and great radio stations. But it’s much more than that, and a new report backs up that claim.

Let’s just say Portland is looking out for the ladies.

Portland, Maine, is One of the Best Cities for Women

WalletHub.com, a personal finance website, recently published a report ranking the best cities in America for women. Both Portland and Lewiston made the list.

Portland earned a very solid 12th place — an impressive showing considering the report evaluated 182 cities nationwide. It was also the second-highest-ranked city in all of New England, trailing only South Burlington, Vermont, which came in at 5th overall.

Portland’s overall score was 67.22, based on a 100-point system. The rankings were determined by two major categories: Women’s Economic & Social Well-Being and Women’s Health Care & Safety. These categories were further broken down into 15 subcategories, making the analysis quite detailed. (You can read more about their methodology here.)

Portland performed respectably in both major categories. It ranked 20th in Economic & Social Well-Being and 44th in Health Care & Safety. While neither ranking is jaw-dropping, both fall within the top 50 — a positive sign for a city that works to be inclusive, safe, and supportive.

The news wasn’t quite as good for Lewiston, which landed much further down the list. Maine’s second-largest city came in at 118th overall, with a 76th place ranking in Health Care & Safety and a tough 131st in Economic & Social Well-Being. Looks like Lewiston has something to aim for in 2026.

READ MORE: List of Maine’s Final 6 Fairs of the 2025 Season

What are the Best American Cities for Women?

According to WalletHub, the best city for women in America is Columbia, Maryland (woo-hoo, my home state!). The Baltimore/DC suburb scored a whopping 81.88 — more than five points ahead of second-place Seattle, Washington. Rounding out the top five were Overland Park, KS, Raleigh, NC, and South Burlington, VT.

As for the lowest-ranked city? That title goes to Jackson, Mississippi. Honestly, it feels like Mississippi ends up at the bottom of a lot of these reports. I guess college football didn’t count toward the final score.