Study: Massachusetts is the best state for working moms

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Women make up nearly half of the workforce in the United States, and around 68% of moms with children under the age of 18 were working in 2021. Unfortunately, however, the share of women in the workforce dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing a decline of around 1.3% between 2019 and 2021 (compared to 1.1% for men).

Even in non-pandemic conditions, women are constantly fighting an uphill battle in the workplace, as their average hourly wage is only 84% of what men make and only 6.2% of S&P 500 companies’ chief executives are women. These numbers beg the question- should women have to choose between career and family?

The real question, however, is what we’re doing about these fundamental problems. Progress is taking shape at different rates around the nation. Not only do parental leave policies and other legal support systems vary by state, but the quality of infrastructure- from daycare to public schooling- is far from uniform as well.

In order to help ease the burden on an underappreciated portion of the population, WalletHub compared state dynamics across 17 key metrics to identify the best and worst states for working moms. New York State ranked ninth overall but topped the list for day-care quality. Where the Empire State was hurt worst in the study was in the realm of poverty-stricken single mom families- placing twenty-eighth in that category.

The actual best state for working moms, you might ask? That would be Massachusetts- which ranked fourth overall for child-care but topped the list in just about every other category. WalletHub’s study highlighted the ease of work-life balance in the Bay State, while also mentioning a slight lack of professional opportunities offered to women there.

Best and worst states for working moms

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Child Care	Professional Opportunities	Work-Life Balance
1	Massachusetts	62.99	4	22	1
2	Connecticut	62.95	5	1	5
3	Rhode Island	61.99	7	9	2
4	Minnesota	59.79	1	3	15
5	Wisconsin	57.57	6	5	10
6	District of Columbia	57.35	11	7	7
7	Vermont	55.40	9	21	9
8	New Jersey	55.26	15	15	8
9	New York	53.53	3	36	13
10	New Hampshire	52.19	8	4	34
11	Washington	51.89	34	20	3
12	South Dakota	51.02	20	2	24
13	Illinois	50.77	2	33	26
14	Maine	49.19	18	43	14
15	Oregon	48.89	39	18	4
16	North Dakota	48.56	14	28	20
17	Kansas	47.95	21	24	21
18	Tennessee	47.20	10	13	48
19	Maryland	47.17	16	6	50
20	Virginia	47.11	12	12	44
21	Indiana	46.42	17	32	29
22	Delaware	46.40	13	23	41
23	Iowa	46.38	25	16	19
24	Utah	45.77	24	47	12
25	Montana	45.32	30	37	11
26	Florida	45.24	19	19	43
27	Nebraska	44.19	29	11	27
28	Texas	43.39	23	10	47
29	Kentucky	42.82	22	42	35
30	Ohio	42.82	38	14	22
31	Wyoming	42.27	26	46	18
32	Pennsylvania	41.57	27	29	37
33	Michigan	41.35	32	26	31
34	Missouri	40.91	28	27	40
35	Colorado	40.89	35	25	30
36	North Carolina	40.69	37	17	36
37	Arizona	39.64	43	8	33
38	New Mexico	39.07	40	35	28
39	Hawaii	38.94	36	49	16
40	Alaska	38.62	41	34	23
41	Arkansas	38.45	42	31	25
42	California	38.44	49	39	6
43	Georgia	37.46	31	30	51
44	Oklahoma	37.30	33	44	39
45	West Virginia	35.33	46	40	32
46	Nevada	32.60	47	38	46
47	Idaho	32.43	51	45	17
48	South Carolina	31.98	45	48	45
49	Alabama	31.33	48	41	42
50	Mississippi	29.14	44	51	49
51	Louisiana	27.38	50	50	38