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“The U.S. still has a lot of work to do when it comes to improving conditions for working moms, given the wage gap and the lack of representation women have in certain leadership positions. However, some states are significantly better than others,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “The best states for working moms provide equitable pay for women and a strong potential for career advancement, along with robust parental leave policies and high-quality child care, health care, and schools.” 

In-Depth Look at Illinois

Several different factors determine how good a state is for working moms, and Illinois performs much better in some areas than others. It ranks:

• Ninth for child care
• Eighth for professional opportunities
• 24th for work-life balance
• 12th overall

Illinois excels when it comes to the median earnings for women, ranking first in the nation. This demonstrates that the state provides good career opportunities for women. In addition, Illinois has the third-lowest gender pay gap.

Unfortunately, Illinois needs to make more progress when it comes to the female unemployment rate, where it only ranks 48th in the country. It's also in 43rd place for the average commute time for women.

Best and Worst States for Working Moms

Women make up of the U.S. workforce, and in 2024 about 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 of what men make per hour, and just of chief executives at S&P 500 companies are women. Some states address these disparities much better than others, though. 

The methodology can be found on the on WalletHub.