With Mother’s Day around the corner and 74% of women with children participating in the labor force last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms, as well as expert commentary.
In order to help ease the burden on mothers in the workforce, WalletHub compared the attractiveness of each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for a working mother based on 17 key metrics. The data set ranges from the median salary for women to the female unemployment rate to day-care quality.
South Dakota ranked 20th overall in the study, scoring 16th for professional opportunities for moms and 24th or work life balance.
| Best States for Working Moms | Worst States for Working Moms | |
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. Alaska | |
| 2. Rhode Island | 43. Georgia | |
| 3. District of Columbia | 44. Oklahoma | |
| 4. Connecticut | 45. West Virginia | |
| 5. Minnesota | 46. South Carolina | |
| 6. New Jersey | 47. Idaho | |
| 7. Washington | 48. Nevada | |
| 8. Vermont | 49. Mississippi | |
| 9. Wisconsin | 50. Louisiana | |
| 10. Maine | 51. Alabama |
Best vs. Worst
- South Dakota has the lowest child-care costs as a share of the median women’s salary, which is 2.5 times lower than in New York, the highest.
- North Dakota has the highest number of childcare workers per 1,000 children younger than 14, which is 9.3 times higher than in Washington, the lowest.
- District of Columbia has the highest ratio of female executives to male executives, which is 2.4 times higher than in Utah, the lowest.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of single-mom families with children younger than 18 in poverty, which is 1.9 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-working-moms/3565
