American Business Journals released a new survey studying which cities have the best working environment for women. The San Francisco Bay area clearly outpaced the other business markets and was the only city to rank among the three national leaders in three of the study's key categories: the percentage of women who hold bachelor's degrees, the number of woman-owned businesses per 10,000 residents, and the share of female employees with salaries of $100,000 or more.

Washington, D.C. females were the most educated, which helped elevate the nation’s capital to second place. Forty-four percent of Washington's women have bachelor's degrees, and 19 percent hold advanced degrees. Both of these figures lead the nation, even overcoming San Francisco’s impressive numbers.

America's two largest metropolitan areas, New York City and Los Angeles, rank as the third- and fourth-best markets for women in business. Madison, Wisconsin is fifth.

The study identified three qualities that these top-rated areas share:

• Education - Higher levels of education often bring higher levels of pay. After Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area has the second highest number of women with advanced degrees, and Boston has the second highest with bachelor’s degrees.
• Elevated salaries - Only eight markets have pay scales in which more than 4 percent of their female workers earn six-figure salaries. All four of the frontrunners in the overall rankings were included in that group.
• Entrepreneurship - The top 10 markets, taken as a group, have 274 woman-owned businesses for every 10,000 residents, 24 percent above the national average of 221 per 10,000.