Philly ranks 17th of 20 cities good for single career women

The unemployment rate for U.S. women has been dropping steadily. Simultaneously, single women continue to make up more and more of the housing market. According to a new study by real estate brokerage Owners.com, single women made up 18 percent of the national market last year, while single men made up 7 percent.

Along with their study, researchers at the brokerage have released a list of the best places for single, career-focused women to live. In doing so, they considered factors including the percentage of single women homeowners in each city and the median earnings and unemployment for women there.

Buffalo topped the list (which clearly did not weigh climate). Philadelphia finished at 17th.

According to the study, the rate of unemployment for women in Philadelphia is 5.6 percent, second only to the New York City metro region, which had the highest unemployment rate. The number is hardly a surprise given that Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the nation.

The rest of the news for locals was better: The median earnings for women was $46,494  — among the top 10 salaries on the list. The average home price of $275,478 made it the ninth-least-expensive city on the list.

Daniel Maloney, head of national sales at Owners.com, said in a statement, "While many of the top 20 markets offer single, professional women strong career opportunities, they can also be considered expensive real estate markets."