working momsDid you know solo moms with young children constituting nearly three-quarters of all working women?   The personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms

In order to help ease the burden on an under-appreciated segment of the population, WalletHub’s analysts compared the attractiveness of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to a working mother. We did so using 13 key metrics such as median women’s salary, female unemployment rate and day-care quality.

Best States for Working Moms Worst States for Working Moms
1 Vermont 42 New Mexico
2 Minnesota 43 Georgia
3 Connecticut 44 Idaho
4 North Dakota 45 Mississippi
5 Massachusetts 46 Arizona
6 Illinois 47 Alaska
7 Wisconsin 48 Louisiana
8 Colorado 49 South Carolina
9 Kansas 50 Alabama
10 New Jersey 51 Nevada

Comparing the Best & Worst:

  • New York has the highest day-care quality score, 116, which is five times better than in Idaho, the state with the lowest, 23.
  • Mississippi has the lowest child-care costs as a share of the median women’s salary, 12 percent, which is more than two times lower than in Florida, the state with the highest, 27 percent.
  • The District of Columbia has the most pediatricians per 100,000 residents, 48.92, which is nearly 18 times more than in Wisconsin, the state with the fewest, 2.79.
  • The District of Columbia has the highest ratio of female executives to male executives, 65.43 percent, which is nearly three times higher than in Utah, the state with the lowest, 25.51 percent.
  • Maryland has the lowest percentage of single-mom families with children younger than 18 in poverty, 26.1 percent, which is two times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest, 51.3 percent.
  • Virginia has the highest median women’s salary (adjusted for cost of living), $45,452, which is two times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest, $22,792.
  • North Dakota has the lowest female unemployment rate, 2.8 percent, which is three times lower than in the District of Columbia, which has the highest, 8.4 percent.

For the full report and to see where your state ranks, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-working-moms/3565/