North Carolina Ranks As One Of The Worst State For Working Moms
Women make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force. And many of those are working moms. In fact, nearly 68% of moms with children under age 18 were working…
Women make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force. And many of those are working moms. In fact, nearly 68% of moms with children under age 18 were working in 2021. But working mom's can face an uphill battle in the workplace. It's well documented and talked about that their average hourly wage is only 84% of what men make. On top of that only, 6.2% of S&P 500 companies’ chief executives are women. Many women also feel that society makes them choose between career and family. Things that can impact whether or not a woman makes that choice include parental leave, availability of affordable childcare, and other indicators. WalletHub compared state dynamics across 17 key metrics to identify the Best & Worst States for women. And North Carolina ranked in the bottom half of states for working moms.
Below are the states ranked best to worst. Read on to find out where North Carolina ranks for working moms, our overall score, and our rankings for child care, professional opportunities, and work-life balance.
1. Massachusetts
Total Score: 62.99
Child Care: 4
Professional Opportunities: 22
Work-Life Balance: 1
William Reagan/Getty Images Creative2. Connecticut
Total Score: 62.95
Child Care: 5
Professional Opportunities: 1
Work-Life Balance: 5
Getty Images Creative3. Rhode Island
Total Score: 61.99
Child Care: 7
Professional Opportunities: 9
Work-Life Balance: 2
fotoguy22/ Getty Images Creative4. Minnesota
Total Score: 59.79
Child Care: 1
Professional Opportunities: 3
Work-Life Balance: 15
Susan Rydberg/Getty Images Creative5. Wisconsin
Total Score: 57.57
Child Care: 6
Professional Opportunities: 5
Work-Life Balance: 10
Vinay Pathak/Getty Images6. District of Columbia
Total Score: 57.35
Child Care: 11
Professional Opportunities: 7
Work-Life Balance: 7
7. Vermont
Total Score: 55.4
Child Care: 9
Professional Opportunities: 21
Work-Life Balance: 9
8. New Jersey
Total Score: 55.26
Child Care: 15
Professional Opportunities: 15
Work-Life Balance: 8
9. New York
Total Score: 53.53
Child Care: 3
Professional Opportunities: 36
Work-Life Balance: 13
10. New Hampshire
Total Score: 52.19
Child Care: 34
Professional Opportunities: 20
Work-Life Balance: 3
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)11. Washington
Total Score: 51.89
Child Care: 34
Professional Opportunities: 20
Work-Life Balance: 3
12. South Dakota
Total Score: 51.02
Child Care: 20
Professional Opportunities: 2
Work-Life Balance: 24
13. Illinois
Total Score: 51.02
Child Care: 2
Professional Opportunities: 33
Work-Life Balance: 26
14. Maine
Total Score: 49.19
Child Care: 18
Professional Opportunities: 43
Work-Life Balance: 14
15. Oregon
Total Score: 48.89
Child Care: 39
Professional Opportunities: 18
Work-Life Balance: 4
Marshall Pittman/Getty Images16. North Dakota
Total Score: 48.56
Child Care: 14
Professional Opportunities: 28
Work-Life Balance: 20
17. Kansas
Total Score: 47.95
Child Care: 21
Professional Opportunities: 24
Work-Life Balance: 21
18. Tennessee
Total Score: 47.2
Child Care: 10
Professional Opportunities: 13
Work-Life Balance: 48
19. Maryland
Total Score: 47.17
Child Care: 16
Professional Opportunities: 6
Work-Life Balance: 50
20. Virginia
Total Score: 47.11
Child Care: 12
Professional Opportunities: 12
Work-Life Balance: 44
SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images Creative21. Indiana
Total Score: 46.42
Child Care: 17
Professional Opportunities: 32
Work-Life Balance: 29
22. Delaware
Total Score: 46.4
Child Care: 13
Professional Opportunities: 23
Work-Life Balance: 41
23. Iowa
Total Score: 46.38
Child Care: 25
Professional Opportunities: 16
Work-Life Balance: 19
24. Utah
Total Score: 45.77
Child Care: 24
Professional Opportunities: 47
Work-Life Balance: 12
25. Montana
Total Score: 45.32
Child Care: 30
Professional Opportunities: 37
Work-Life Balance: 11
SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images Creative26. Florida
Total Score: 45.24
Child Care: 19
Professional Opportunities: 19
Work-Life Balance: 43
27. Nebraska
Total Score: 44.19
Child Care: 29
Professional Opportunities: 11
Work-Life Balance: 27
28. Texas
Total Score: 42.39
Child Care: 23
Professional Opportunities: 10
Work-Life Balance: 47
29. Kentucky
Total Score: 42.82
Child Care: 22
Professional Opportunities: 42
Work-Life Balance: 35
30. Ohio
Total Score: 42.82
Child Care: 38
Professional Opportunities: 14
Work-Life Balance: 22
aceshot/Getty Images Plus31. Wyoming
Total Score: 42.27
Child Care: 26
Professional Opportunities: 46
Work-Life Balance: 18
32. Pennslyvania
Total Score: 41.57
Child Care: 27
Professional Opportunities: 29
Work-Life Balance: 37
33. Michigan
Total Score: 41.35
Child Care: 32
Professional Opportunities: 26
Work-Life Balance: 31
34. Missouri
Total Score: 40.91
Child Care: 28
Professional Opportunities: 27
Work-Life Balance: 40
35. Colorado
Total Score: 40.89
Child Care: 35
Professional Opportunities: 25
Work-Life Balance: 30
Kruck20/Getty Images Creative36. North Carolina
Total Score: 40.69
Child Care: 37
Professional Opportunities: 17
Work-Life Balance: 36
37. Arizona
Total Score: 39.64
Child Care: 43
Professional Opportunities: 8
Work-Life Balance: 33
38. New Mexico
Total Score: 39.07
Child Care: 40
Professional Opportunities: 35
Work-Life Balance: 28
39. Hawaii
Total Score: 38.94
Child Care: 36
Professional Opportunities: 49
Work-Life Balance: 16
40. Alaska
Total Score: 38.62
Child Care: 41
Professional Opportunities: 34
John Pennell/Getty Image CreativeWork-Life Balance:23
41. Arkansas
Total Score: 38.45
Child Care: 42
Professional Opportunities: 31
Work-Life Balance: 25
42. California
Total Score: 38.44
Child Care: 49
Professional Opportunities: 39
Work-Life Balance: 6
43. Georgia
Total Score: 37.46
Child Care: 31
Professional Opportunities: 30
Work-Life Balance: 51
44. Oklahoma
Total Score: 37.30
Child Care: 33
Professional Opportunities: 44
Work-Life Balance: 39
45. West Virginia
Total Score: 35.33
Child Care: 46
Professional Opportunities: 40
Work-Life Balance: 32
Xavier_Ascanio/Getty Images Creative46. Nevada
Total Score: 32.6
Child Care: 47
Professional Opportunities: 38
Work-Life Balance: 46
47. Idaho
Total Score: 32.43
Child Care: 51
Professional Opportunities: 45
Work-Life Balance: 17
48. South Carolina
Total Score: 31.98
Child Care: 45
Professional Opportunities: 48
Work-Life Balance: 45
49. Alabama
Total Score: 31.33
Child Care: 48
Professional Opportunities: 41
Work-Life Balance: 42
50 Mississippi
Total Score: 29.14
Child Care: 44
Professional Opportunities: 51
Work-Life Balance: 49
51. Louisiana
Total Score: 27.38
Child Care: 50
Professional Opportunities: 50
Work-Life Balance: 38
