The Best And Worst States For Working Dads In 2021

Over the last 50 years, fathers have become much more active in the role of parenting.

According to a 2016 report from Pew Research Center, dads made up 17% of all stay-at-home parents in the U.S, up 10% from 1989.

Due to the pandemic and the rising cost of living, many of those stay-at-home dads were also forced to find part-time work or create side hustles to contribute monetarily to the family.

Stay-at-home dads slowly transitioned into working dads.

With the pandemic in our rearview mirror, millions of dads are now looking for full-time employment.

With Father’s Day this weekend – and 93.3% of married dads working last year compared to 69.2% of married moms – the personal-finance website WalletHub released a report on 2021’s Best & Worst States for Working Dads.

“The contemporary dad no longer fits neatly into the standard of the married breadwinner and disciplinarian. That’s been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many fathers have been working from home and have taken on more childcare duties as a result.

Not all working dads are in the same situation, though. Those who live in states with greater economic opportunity and quality of life have it better than others.

In order to determine the best states for men who play a dual role of parent and provider, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 23 key indicators of friendliness toward working fathers.”

According to WalletHub’s findings, here are the ten best – and ten worst- states for working dads.

Best States for Working Dads

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

Worst States for Working Dads

42. Arkansas
43. Oklahoma
44. Idaho
45. South Carolina
46. Alabama
47. West Virginia
48. Mississippi
49. Louisiana
50. New Mexico

Here are more key findings about working dads from the data:

• Utah has the lowest unemployment rate for dads with kids aged 0 to 17, 1.35 percent, which is three times lower than in West Virginia, the highest at 4.07 percent.
• Massachusetts has the lowest male uninsured rate, 3.40 percent, which is 5.3 times lower than in Texas, the highest at 18.00 percent.
• Mississippi has the lowest average annual early child-care costs (adjusted for median family income), 5.41 percent, which is 2.1 times lower than in Nebraska, the highest at 11.32 percent.
• North Dakota has the lowest share of men who couldn’t afford to see a doctor in the past year because of costs, 7.50 percent, which is 2.1 times lower than in Alabama and Florida, both with the highest at 15.80 percent.

See where your state ranks by visiting WalletHub to view the full report and check out their study on the best states for working moms in 2021.