These Are the Best and Worst States for Working Moms in 2021

This past year has been a hard one for working moms. Women have been adversely affected since the start of the pandemic, and over 2 million women have left the workforce. Plus, there have been nationwide calls for the government to acknowledge and compensate mothers for their invisible labor. The conversation on the invisible labor of moms is far from over, and there’s a lot that remains to be done to make it easier for women to balance work and motherhood. But some states are better than others when it comes to supporting working mothers.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, looked at all 50 states and D.C., comparing them against 17 key metrics, to find which ones were best for working moms. The metrics included factors like childcare, gender pay gap, female unemployment rates, parental leave policies and more. Here’s what they found in their report.

Top 10 Best States for Working Moms

1. Massachusetts
2. District of Columbia
3. Connecticut
4. Vermont
5. Minnesota
6. Rhode Island
7. Wisconsin
8. New Jersey
9. New York
10. Washington

Top 10 Worst States for Working Moms

1. Louisiana
2. Alabama
3. Idaho
4. Mississippi
5. South Carolina
6. Nevada
7. Oklahoma
8. New Mexico
9. Arkansas
10. West Virginia

New York had the highest daycare quality score, while Idaho had the lowest. Mississippi had the lowest childcare costs as a share of the median women’s salary, while Nebraska had the highest. While it didn’t make either list, North Dakota had the highest score for childcare workers per 1000 children younger than 14, while Delaware had the lowest.

In terms of highest ratio for female executives to male executives, D.C. had the highest score and Utah had the lowest. D.C. also had the lowest gender pay gap, while Wyoming had the highest.

To view the full report or find your state’s ranking, visit WalletHub.com.