In anticipation of Father's Day, WalletHub, a finance site, has conducted a study to determine the best states to live in as a working dad. Bureau of Labor Statistics data referenced by WalletHub shows an increase in the rate of working mothers over time, resulting in a more balanced distribution of housework and childcare duties between parents.
Based on an analysis of approximately two dozen factors, such as median family income, cost of living, and quality of school systems, WalletHub has listed the top 10 states for working fathers. The majority of the top-performing states are located in the northeast and Midwest, while the states with the lowest scores are primarily located in the southern and southwestern regions of the US. The factors were assigned different weights to create an overall score out of 100 points, which allowed the states to be ranked from one to 51, including Washington, DC.
Washington state had the largest gap between its best and worst categories of any state in the top 10.
WalletHub found that Washington has the third-best work-life balance, while its health and economic well-being rankings came in at 13 and 22, respectively. The biggest drop, however, comes with the child care category, where Washington ranks 41.
That ranking is partial because it has the third highest childcare costs of any state, while also producing the second-best life expectancy for its men.
Virginia had the fourth-best economic well-being score and ninth-best childcare score. Two of its categories were outside the top 10, with the 15th-best health ranking, and the 21st-best score in work-life balance.
Virginia reported the second highest median family income, second only to its neighbor Washington, DC, while also tying with four other states (South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, and Idaho) for the lowest unemployment rate for fathers of young kids.
The Granite State saw a mix of high and low rankings, as it offers the second-best economic well-being, and is seventh best in terms of health, but its child care and work-life balance categories ranked at 13 and 19, respectively.
WalletHub reported that New Hampshire has the lowest rate of young kids with a father present living in poverty, about four times better than the rate of 51st place New Mexico.
Wisconsin ranked sixth best in health, eighth best in economic well-being, tenth best in work-life balance, and 19th best in child care.
It is also one of the three of the top 10 states outside of the northeastern US.
The smallest state in the US came in as the sixth-best state for working fathers, with one of the biggest gaps between a specific category and its overall score.
Rhode Island was in the top six in three out of the four categories, as it placed fifth best in work-life balance and health, and sixth in child care. However, the state took a massive hit in the rankings in the other category, as its higher rankings in the other categories helped keep it in the top 10 while also being the 34th best state in economic wellbeing.
The state ranked highly in the rate of uninsured men, tied for fifth with Minnesota, and it also tied with New Mexico for the fourth shortest average work day. The economic well-being category was likely dragged down by the fact that Rhode Island has the fifth worst, or 47th place, unemployment rate among dads with young children.
Tony Soprano would be proud, as New Jersey came in as the fifth-best state for working fathers.
The Garden State has the sixth best economic well-being, fourth best work-life balance, and a drop off with the number 11 ranked child care, and the 18th best health among men.
WalletHub also found that New Jersey has the fourth-highest median family income in the US.
Minnesota scored the highest of any state in the economic wellbeing category, third in both child care and health, and slotted in at number 11 in work-life balance.
The median family income in the Midwestern state is the third highest in the country, its men have the third longest life expectancy, and it tied with Rhode Island for the fifth-lowest rate of uninsured men in the US.
Connecticut came in at third place, ranking in the top 10 in all four categories.
Connecticut was the ninth-best economic well-being state and ranked eighth in work-life balance, and fourth in both child care and health.
The nation's capital was evaluated separately from Maryland and Virginia, as it was for WalletHub's remote work states analysis earlier this year.
The District of Columbia ranked highest in the child care category, taking the first overall spot, while it was fifth in economic well-being, second in work-life balance, and tenth place for health.
It also boasted the highest median income of any state, about twice as high as Hawaii in the 51st spot. Washington also came in behind only Massachusetts in the lowest rate of uninsured adult men.
Massachusetts scored as the best state for working fathers, with the most consistently high rankings across the four categories.
It took first place in work-life balance, second in child care and health, and third in economic and social well-being.
Massachusetts has the second lowest rate of children 17 and under living in poverty, as well as the lowest rate of uninsured men in the country, WalletHub found. Texas had the worst rate of uninsured adult men, five times worse than the rate in Massachusetts.
See where your state ranks in WalletHub's full study here.