Working moms might be better off outside Nevada, report says

By Kyle B. Hansen

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 | 2 a.m.

For working moms, Nevada may be one of the worst places to be, according to a new report from finance website WalletHub.

Nevada was named the sixth worst state for working moms, coming in behind only Louisiana, Mississippi, Wyoming, Idaho and South Carolina.

In addition, the Silver State ranked dead last for child care and 47th for work-life balance, but took a respectable 14th place for women's professional opportunities.

The child care ranking was based on day care quality, child care cost, access to pediatric services and the quality of public schools. The professional opportunities category was judged on the gender pay gap — or the women's earnings as a percentage of men's — and the ratio of female to male executives. Work-life balance was based on parental leave policies, the length of the average woman's workday and average commute times.

Nevada especially suffers from high child care costs, which are nearly 25 percent of the median income of women, the report says. That's the fourth-highest level in the nation, behind only the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and New York.

Here's how Nevada placed in all the categories:

• 28th – Day Care Quality

• 48th – Child Care Costs

• 47th – Access to Pediatric Services

• 25th – Public School Quality

• 23rd – Gender Pay Gap

• 15th – Ratio of Female to Male Executives

• 34th – Parental Leave Policy

• 46th – Length of the Average Woman's Workday

• 26th – Average Commute Time

The report found that blue states — ones whose residents predominantly vote Democrat — are friendlier to working moms than red states.

The states (and federal district) that did best in the report were: Oregon, the District of Columbia, Vermont, Maine, New York and Delaware.

For more from WalletHub, click here.