Working moms should consider living in NJ

With Mother's Day, this weekend and with 68% of women with children under age 18 have been in the labor force during 2021, it was only fitting that personal-finance website, WalletHub recently released its report on 2022's Best and Worst States for Working Moms.

WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 17 key metrics, ranging from the median women's salary to the female unemployment rate to daycare quality to determine which states were tops for working moms, according to analyst Jill Gonzalez.

Good news for New Jersey: It is one of the top 10 best states for working moms, ranking 8th best on the list.

New Jersey has a pretty good work-life balance because it has a good parental leave policy score, ranking 5th best in that category. This looks at laws that help expecting and new parents. Many states don't have too many of these laws, but New Jersey does, she said.

"It also has a little bit shorter of an average length of a woman's work week so obviously you can spend more time at home possibly, which is always helpful," Gonzalez said.

In terms of child care, the daycare quality is good in New Jersey. Unfortunately, child care costs are expensive, said Gonzalez.  There is this sense of "you're getting what you pay for." So, while a good chunk of a woman's salary is going toward daycare in the Garden State, she said at least it's good-quality daycare.

When it comes to professional opportunities, the salary is not bad in New Jersey. The gender pay gap is a little bit smaller in the Garden State than in a lot of other states, said Gonzalez.

But the state could be doing better when it comes to having a higher ratio of female executives to male executives. New Jersey could also improve in terms of lowering the female unemployment rate.

Massachusetts is the best state for working moms, according to the WalletHub report. Connecticut came in second place followed by Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

The worst state for working moms is Louisiana followed by Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and Idaho.

Jen Ursillo is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at jennifer.ursillo@townsquaremedia.com

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