If you plan on having children and working while you raise them, you might want to consider moving to Connecticut.
A new study has examined which states are the worst for parents planning to work while raising kids – and North Carolina ranked the fifth least suitable.
States were judged on a combination of the following: childcare affordability, public-school rankings, maternity leave pay, maternity leave length, and the cost of living.
Only four states finished worse than North Carolina in these categories.
New Mexico was named the most unsuitable state for working parents largely due to its lack of paid maternity leave and low average income.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Connecticut was found the best state in this regard thanks in part to its 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and the low amount parents spend on childcare.
The study was conducted by Human Resources tech researchers at SelectSoftware Reviews.
The second worst state for working parents was found to be Montana, due to the state’s lack of paid maternity leave and high cost of living.
Michigan came in third worst, while West Virginia was found to be fourth worst based in part on its second lowest average income at $49,000 a year. West Virginia also has an above-average cost for childcare, with parents spending 36 percent of their income for that purpose.
According to the study, North Carolina – the fifth worst state for raising children while working – is 43rd in the public-school rankings among states, and, on average, requires parents to spend 32 percent of their annual income on childcare.
Ya don’t say?
How many times have I said make sacrifices & homeschool your kids. It just makes sense in NC.
Call me old fashioned, but mothers should forgo public work until their children are older. A part-time job working from home may be suitable, but children need the loving attention provided by mothers. Why would a woman work at a public job to then pay over one-third of their salary for child care? What if there were two, three children? A lack of women in the workforce would cause companies to increase the salary for the fathers.
You really are ignoring the massive wage stagnation that has occurred over the last 30 years. To own a home would require a min twice the average income of a typical adult male today. Go ahead and try to build a budget that allows a mom to stay home if dad only earns 50,000 a year in income. Bet you can’t.
You are right on this one, dude. The only solution I can think of is not to have as many children.
Exactly. Hell, we were paying over $19k/yr. in child care and didn’t claim that since we paid the gal in cash and in-kind with a car. It reaches a point where you have to evaluate the value in it all. My wife made far more than I at the time. We ditched the house and 1 car, found a smaller place on more acreage, I put in more hours & did some odd jobs. We did without a lot of unnecessary fancy things for many years to make it happen. Absolutely no regrets, other than we should have done it sooner rather than follow the Jones’ and the rest of society’s bullspit.
Be careful what you put in print paying someone in cash and not reporting it as well as gifting the car are all IRS issues. People like Big City will report you heck he calls on his neighbors about trash cans.
Exactly. Everything is relative. No one suggests that there are no sacrifices made for a mother to stay home and care for the children. But, it can be done. It takes a mother and father working together to make it happen; smaller home, basic vehicle, homecooked meals. As far as Chris’ point about a limited salary of the father, look for and find a better paying job. Find a job with perks such as a company car so only one family car needed; or allowances for some other expenses.
Let me guess. You are a boomer that had the easy work days post ww2 through the 70s before other nations caught up and surpassed our industrial dominance. Just a guess.
Maybe, Chris, I am the product of a stay-at-home mom, and experienced the love and stability of a two-parent home? Guessing means you do not know but are making assumptions.