In light of Women’s History Month, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 key metrics that speak to the needs and expectations of women in America.

Ariane Hegewisch, Director of the Employment and Earnings Program at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research was interviewed as a financial expert for the article.

“Financial stresses vary over the life cycle: for young women, financing college can often be a big issue – that includes paying for childcare for the well over a third of women in college who have kids. The wage gap means that working women typically have less money than men (paying off college debt, buying a house with an affordable mortgage or renting in a neighborhood where schools are ok – is the next big issue, if you want to have kids).

As women move into their fifties and beyond, having enough to prepare for retirement becomes a big concern. And of course there is an increasing number of women in the sandwich generation – financially still supporting kids or grand kids, as well as supporting care of their parents.”