The best and worst states for working moms REVEALED: Is your home on the list?

Massachusetts is the best state for working moms, according to a new study. 

Personal finance website WalletHub analyzed each state based on three key metrics - child care, professional opportunities and 'work-life balance.'

It considered factors including the cost of childcare in the state, the quality of the school system, the gender pay gap, the median salary for women, parental leave policies and the average length of a woman's work week. 

Women make up nearly half of the US workforce - and 74 percent of moms with children under 18 were working in 2023, according to WalletHub.

But many working mothers still face an uphill battle in the workplace. On average in the US, a woman's hourly wage is only 82 percent of what men make. 

But some states are doing more to address these issues, the study found, with parental leave policies and the quality of infrastructure varying significantly across the country.   

Working moms can also benefit from a relatively short work week, as the average woman in Massachusetts works around 35.5 hours per week, it found.

The quality of education in the state is also high, as Massachusetts has some of the best public schools in the country. 

Rhode Island ranked second on the list of the best states for working mothers.

It boasts the lowest gender pay gap in the country, with women earning 99.6 percent of what men earn, WalletHub said.

It also has some of the most pediatricians per capita, and childcare workers per capita, making it easier for moms to find a place to send their children during the day while they are at work.

It does, however, have among the most expensive childcare costs in the country, the study found. 

Third on the list is the District of Columbia, followed by Connecticut and Minnesota.  

'Working moms have to carefully balance career opportunities with factors that provide a good environment for their children when deciding where to live,' said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst.

'The best states provide equitable pay for women and the potential for career advancement, along with robust parental leave policies and high-quality child care, health care, and schools. 

'This gives working moms both the financial ability and the peace of mind to not have to choose between a career and family.' 

On the other end of the spectrum, WalletHub ranked Alabama as the worst state for working moms. 

The state ranks in the bottom 10 for childcare, professional opportunities and work-life balance. 

It is among the five worst states for day care systems, and for the ratio of female executives to male executives, the study found.

The second worst state for working mothers is Louisiana, followed by Mississippi, Nevada and Idaho.

Louisiana also ranks among the five worst states for day care systems - and also for the gender pay gap.

The study also found that blue states are more friendly to working moms than red states.

It comes after a separate study earlier this year revealed that the steep cost of childcare is making it almost impossible for many parents to afford.

According to a health department definition, childcare is not 'affordable' in any of the 50 states, but some areas are up against a higher cost burden than others. 

New Mexico has the least affordable childcare in the country, data from GOBankingRates shows.

The report found families there must fork out over 15 percent of their income on nursery care for kids. This is almost double the amount that families are spending in the most affordable states.

In South Dakota , the cheapest state, families are typically spending 9 percent of their wages on childcare.

But the US Department of Health and Human Services defines 'affordable' as 7 percent of a person's income. Using that criteria, not a single state offers its residents affordable childcare.  

One of the reasons for spiraling childcare costs across the country is an increase in demand - coupled with a shortage of workers.

In September 2023, the government also pulled the plug on pandemic-era aid for daycare centers, putting increasing pressure on the sector.