These Are 2022’s Best Cities for Single Moms

For many single moms raising a child takes a village—and it turns out where that village is located can have a big impact on mom and baby. Different cities have different access to resources like affordable childcare and quality education systems, making life as a solo parent easier or much more difficult.

To help single moms plan for the best place to put down their roots, a new report from Lawmstarter evaluated the best cities for single moms. The annual report determined which cities were best for single moms by comparing 200 US cities across 36 key indicators of single-mom friendliness. The indicators were housed under six key dimensions: health and education, childcare, affordability, home and outdoors, work-life balance, and community support.

The ideal cities were safe and affordable, with ample child care and community support, high-quality education and health care and a decent work-life balance.

According to the report, the best city for single mothers? Roseville, California. A Sacramento suburb had the lowest share of single moms in poverty, the third highest median annual income for single moms and plenty of insured women and children. This city also had excellent public schools, low food insecurity and state policies allowing sick leave for child care.

In second, Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, got top marks for its highly-rated school district. Other wealthy suburbs like Overland Park, Kansas (No. 4), Irvine, California (No. 7), and Frisco, Texas (No. 13), also topped the charts due to their excellent education systems.

When it comes to helping working moms lighten their load, it doesn’t get much better than Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 8). The city touts a low annual childcare cost, the most childcare workers per 100,000 residents and short average commutes. Places like Boston, Fort Collins and Washington D.C. get high scores for offering protected time off for school events.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 best cities for single moms based on their overall scores.

Top 10 Best Cities For Single Moms

1. Roseville, CA
2. Naperville, IL
3. Portland, OR
4. Overland Park, KS
5. Eugene, OR
6. Madison, WI
7. Irvine, CA
8. Sioux Falls, SD
9. Lincoln, NE
10. Buffalo, NY

For a detailed breakdown of how the cities were scored and to see all 200 cities and their rank, check out the full online report.