Maine ranks among top 10 states for working moms

Map / Courtesy of WalletHub Maine is the 10th-best state for working moms in a new WalletHub ranking out this week.

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With less than two weeks until Mother’s Day, a new analysis ranks Maine as the country's 10th-best state for working moms.

The ranking, from personal finance website WalleHub, compares conditions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 17 metrics to identify the best and worst states for women balancing parenting and a job.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the list, in that order. At No. 10, Maine is sandwiched between Wisconsin (No. 9) and New York (No. 11).

The comparisons looked at criteria related to child care, professional opportunities and work-life balance, the category in which Maine fared the best. In the category of professional opportunities, which included factors such as the gender-pay gap and the ratio of female-to-male executives, Maine ranked No. 23 out of 51.

Alabama placed last on the overall list, while Idaho was found to have the worst day-care system.

Citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, researchers note that women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and that nearly three-quarters of moms with children under 18 were employed in 2023.

Working moms also still face an uphill battle in the workplace, as women’s average hourly wage is only 82% of what men make, according to a report by the Pew Research Center published in February.

“Some states are doing more to address these fundamental problems than others,” WalletHub researchers note. “Not only do parental leave policies and other legal support systems vary by state, but the quality of infrastructure — from cost-effective day care to public schools — is far from uniform as well.”

Find the full WalletHub report here.