UNDATED – With Mother’s Day around the corner and 74% of women with children under age 18 having been in the labor force during 2024, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’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 21st in the survey.
| Best States for Working Moms | Worst States for Working Moms | ||
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. Oklahoma | ||
| 2. Connecticut | 43. Idaho | ||
| 3. Rhode Island | 44. West Virginia | ||
| 4. District of Columbia | 45. Arizona | ||
| 5. Maine | 46. South Carolina | ||
| 6. Minnesota | 47. New Mexico | ||
| 7. Vermont | 48. Mississippi | ||
| 8. Wisconsin | 49. Nevada | ||
| 9. New Jersey | 50. Alabama | ||
| 10. New York | 51. Louisiana | ||
Best vs. Worst
- South Dakota has the lowest child-care costs as a share of the median women’s salary, which is 2.3 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 7.5 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 two times lower than in Louisiana, 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
