With Mother's Day just around the corner, personal finance website WalletHub has released its report on the Best and Worst States for Working Moms in 2023. The report aims to help working mothers find the best states to live in by comparing the allure of each state based on 17 key metrics, including median women's salary, childcare costs, and daycare quality.

Maine ranks 9th overall, with high scores in women's unemployment rate (the best in the country) and the ratio of woman executives to male executives, however, our Pine Tree State has a lower ranking in professional opportunities (28th). Maine ranks 9th in child care, with adjusted child-care costs and a moderate number of pediatricians per capita. Our state also ranks 23rd in the percentage of single-mom families in poverty, which is still better than the nationwide average.

The New England region absolutely dominated the nation with this study. Massachusetts takes the top spot as the best state for working moms, followed by Rhode Island and Connecticut, ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively. Vermont and New Hampshire also rank in the top 15.

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On the other end of the spectrum, Louisiana ranked worst in the nation. The state scored poorly in several areas including child care, where it ranked 50th, and professional opportunities, where it also ranked 50th. In terms of work-life balance, Louisiana ranked 38th. Essentially, the report suggests that Louisiana is not the most favorable state for working mothers. And while I personally love the Bayou State, I am in fact not a working mother there.

The report unsurprisingly highlights that childcare is a crucial factor for working mothers, and the metrics related to child care include daycare quality, childcare costs, and the number of nationally accredited childcare centers in the state. The report also takes into account the quality of the school system, the share of working women living with economic security, and the gender pay gap.

WalletHub found that 73% of women with children under age 18 were in the labor force during 2022, emphasizing the importance of supporting working mothers. The report suggests that states can help ease the burden on working mothers by implementing policies that promote a better work-life balance, such as flexible work arrangements and improved parental leave policies.

You can read WalletHub’s full report here.

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