Best & Worst States for Working Moms (2026)

Women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and in 2025 about 74% of moms with children under age 18 were employed. Despite their strong presence in the labor market, working mothers still face significant challenges. On average, women earn only about 82% of what men make per hour, and just 9.4% of chief executives at S&P 500 companies are women. These disparities raise not only financial concerns but also broader social questions about whether women are still expected to choose between building a career and raising a family.

A key issue is how effectively these challenges are being addressed. Progress varies widely across the country, as parental leave policies and other legal protections differ from state to state. In addition, the quality of essential support systems — such as affordable child care and strong public schools — is far from consistent nationwide.

To highlight where working mothers have the best and worst opportunities, WalletHub compared states across 17 key metrics to identify the Best & Worst States for Working Moms.

Main Findings

Best and Worst States for Working Moms

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

In-Depth Look at the Best Places for Working Moms

Connecticut

Connecticut ranks as the best place for working moms, and it had some of the lowest unemployment rates for women last year, at just 2.7%. In addition, Connecticut has a small gender pay gap, with women earning over 89% of what men make, the fourth-highest rate in the country highlighting the state's commitment to pay equity and economic opportunities for women.

Connecticut is great when it comes to childcare. It ranks among the top states when it comes to day care quality and the share of child care centers that are nationally accredited.

Finally, Connecticut has very good parental-leave policies and is among the best places in the country for working from home.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is the second-best state for working moms, in part because it has one of the lowest shares of single moms with children under 18 living in poverty, indicating a strong economic environment for families. Women are also able to take a good amount of time off when they are ready to have a child, as Massachusetts has the best parental-leave policies in the country.

Working moms can benefit from a relatively short work week as well, as the average woman in Massachusetts works around 35.6 hours per week. The Bay State is one of the best states for working from home, too, which can allow moms to easily keep an eye on their kids while still performing their jobs.

Finally, the quality of education that children receive is another big concern for moms, and Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the third-best state for working moms, and it has some of the lowest gender-representation gaps in the country when it comes to the manufacturing industry. The state also provides good opportunities for women to advance in the workplace, with one of the highest ratios of female to male executives and senior-level managers.

The Ocean State also has one of the shortest work weeks as the average woman works around 35.5 hours per week, and it scores very highly when it comes to parental leave policies, allowing women to take breaks from work when they have a child.

In addition, Rhode Island has some of the most pediatricians per capita, which helps children’s health care needs to be addressed in a timely manner. It also has a lot of childcare workers per capita, giving moms plenty of places to send their children during the day while they work.

Red States vs. Blue States

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.