When it comes to the best and worst states for working dads, California ranks 37th. Ouch! It ranks 51 for economic and social well-being and 488th for child care.

With Father’s Day approaching and more than 93% of dads with young children working today, WalletHub, a personal-finance website released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Working Dads.

In order to help dads balance their dual role as parent and provider, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key indicators of friendliness toward working dads. The data set ranges from average length of work day for males to child-care costs to share of men in good or better health.

Back in 1960, 75% of American families relied on a single income, that of the dad, who spent much of his week at work while mom stayed home with the kids, according to Wallet Hub. Today, two-thirds of family households depend on two incomes. And the contemporary working dads no longer fit neatly into the standard of the married breadwinner and disciplinarian.

In fact, nearly 93 percent of dads with kids younger than 18 are employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But some working dads, those who live in states with greater economic opportunity and quality of life, have it better than others.

The top 10 states for working dads are:

  1. Massachusetts
  2. Connecticut
  3. New Jersey
  4. Vermont
  5. Minnesota
  6. District of Columbia
  7. Rhode Island
  8. New Hampshire
  9. Washington
  10. Wisconsin

You may see all the state rankings and indicators by clicking here.

When it comes to working dads, here are some of the best and worst findings from the data:

  • North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate for dads with kids aged 0 to 17, 1.29 percent, which is 3.5 times lower than in Alaska, the highest at 4.55 percent.
  • Massachusetts has the lowest male uninsured rate, 3.80 percent, which is five times lower than in Texas, the highest at 19.00 percent.
  • Mississippi has the lowest average annual early child-care costs (adjusted for median family* income), 4.53 percent, which is 3.3 times lower than in Nebraska, the highest at 14.79 percent.
  • North Dakota has the lowest share of men who couldn’t afford to see a doctor in the past year because of costs, 7.07 percent, which is 2.3 times lower than in Louisiana, the highest at 16.29 percent.

 

Image Sources

  • Happy Father’s Day: You can use the following text: Image by Mary Pahlke from Pixabay