Minnesota ranked top 5 state for working moms

(FOX 9) – Minnesota has been ranked in the top five states for working moms in a recent study by WalletHub. 

The state has been ranked 5th overall for the best states for working moms. Minnesota has been ranked 4th in the country for child care, and 2nd for professional opportunities for moms in the state. Minnesota’s rank for work-life balance for moms is a lot lower, at 16th. 

According to the study, Minnesota has the third-lowest gender pay gap. 

Wisconsin is ranked 9th overall in the study, and is ranked 7th in child care. Wisconsin’s professional opportunities rank is lower at 25. The state is ranked 11th for work-life balance. 

The state with the highest overall ranking is Massachusetts, with the second-highest child care ranking. They are ranked 7th for professional opportunities and ranked number one for work-life balance. 

Alabama is ranked the worst overall state for working moms, with a child care and professional opportunities rank of 47th, and a work-life balance rank of 44th. 

The study ranked the states with three different dimensions: child care, professional opportunities, and work-life balance.

Child care was measured by quality, cost, pediatricians per capita, school quality, share of nationally accredited child care centers, and number of child care workers compared to number of children. 

Professional opportunities for moms were measured by the gender pay gap in each state and the ratio of female executives to male executives. This dimension was also measured by the share of working women living with economic security, the share of families in poverty, and female unemployment rate. 

The work-life balance for working moms was measured by parental leave policies by state, average length of a woman’s work week, and the average commute time for women.