Posted by: Adam McCann

Fatherhood is a responsibility which changes over time. Back in 1960, 75% of American families relied on a single income, that of the dad, who spent much of his week at work while mom stayed home with the kids. Today, two-thirds of family households depend on two incomes. And the contemporary dad no longer fits neatly into the standard of the married breadwinner and disciplinarian.

Regardless of the changing identity and priorities of the modern dad, fatherhood remains an undisputedly tough job. And a father’s ability to provide for his family is central to his role. In fact, nearly 93 percent of dads with kids younger than 18 are employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But some working dads, 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 22 key indicators of friendliness toward working fathers. Our data set ranges from average length of work day for males to child-care costs to share of men in good or better health. Read on for our findings, expert insight on male-parenting issues and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/13458/dads-geochart.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2Zj5fhd>  

Best States for Working Dads

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	“Economic & Social Well-Being” Rank	“Work-Life Balance” Rank	“Child Care” Rank	“Health” Rank
1	Massachusetts	75.38	3	2	1	3
2	Connecticut	70.36	2	7	2	5
3	New Jersey	66.28	5	8	5	20
4	Vermont	65.73	27	3	3	13
5	Minnesota	65.50	1	17	6	1
6	District of Columbia	64.17	12	10	9	6
7	Rhode Island	63.17	23	4	7	22
8	New Hampshire	60.99	7	36	4	12
9	Washington	60.12	28	1	25	14
10	Wisconsin	59.85	10	14	22	15
11	Iowa	59.10	6	31	12	4
12	North Dakota	58.13	4	43	8	11
13	Maryland	57.22	13	25	14	7
14	Virginia	56.76	9	39	10	19
15	Kansas	55.64	15	22	19	24
16	Ohio	55.43	8	23	24	30
17	Delaware	55.25	19	24	11	23
18	Nebraska	55.23	11	27	31	8
19	Montana	54.05	31	9	23	29
20	Maine	53.59	36	11	16	33
21	Illinois	52.71	24	19	26	17
22	South Dakota	52.31	18	33	28	18
23	Colorado	51.97	22	35	20	16
24	Utah	51.79	26	13	37	21
25	Pennsylvania	50.35	14	41	32	26
26	Missouri	50.17	17	34	30	37
27	Wyoming	49.99	16	49	13	32
28	New York	49.98	49	12	17	10
29	Hawaii	49.71	44	15	29	2
30	Indiana	49.52	21	38	21	38
31	Oregon	48.91	45	5	39	25
32	Kentucky	48.80	35	21	18	45
33	Michigan	48.44	20	40	36	28
34	Tennessee	47.51	29	37	15	44
35	North Carolina	46.38	33	30	33	36
36	Alaska	45.59	30	20	42	35
37	California	43.04	51	6	48	9
38	Florida	43.02	46	32	27	34
39	Arizona	41.90	48	16	40	31
40	Texas	41.22	32	50	34	39
41	Oklahoma	40.58	37	46	35	47
42	Georgia	39.69	38	47	38	41
43	Alabama	39.60	34	44	43	48
44	Arkansas	39.08	43	26	47	49
45	Idaho	38.63	39	28	51	27
46	South Carolina	38.44	40	45	44	40
47	Nevada	36.96	47	18	49	43
48	West Virginia	36.65	42	42	45	51
49	Mississippi	35.82	41	48	41	50
50	New Mexico	34.92	50	29	46	42
51	Louisiana	34.14	25	51	50	46

Ask the Experts

As the contemporary working dad faces increasing challenges in his role as parent and provider, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in on the most important issues. Click on the experts’ profiles below to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are the biggest issues facing working dads today?
2. What budget-saving tips do you have for men looking to get fit and be healthy?
3. How likely is it that men will take advantage of new family-leave policies adopted in New York State and elsewhere?
4. How can young fathers find the balance between career and family?

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• Shelly Lundberg Ph.D. – Leonard Broom Professor of Demography and Associate Director of the Broom Center for Demography, Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Stuart Sidle Ph.D. – Associate Provost, Office of the Associate Provosts, University of New Haven
• Jennifer Augustine Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina

Methodology

To determine the best and worst states for working dads, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across four key dimensions: 1) Economic & Social Well-Being, 2) Work-Life Balance, 3) Child Care and 4) Health.

We evaluated those dimensions using 22 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for working dads.

We then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Economic & Social Well-Being – Total Points: 30

• Median Family Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living): Double Weight (~10.00 Points)Note: “Family” refers to those with kids aged 0 to 17 years and in which the father is present.
• Share of Working Men Living with Economic Security: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Basic Economic Security Tables (BEST) Index, which measures how much income working adults of different family types need to be economically secure. Economic security means having “enough income to meet…basic monthly expenses—such as housing, food, transportation and child care expenses—and save for emergencies and retirement.”
• Unemployment Rate for Dads with Kids Aged 0 to 17 Years: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Share of Kids Aged 0 to 17 Years (with Dad Present) Living in Poverty: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Men: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of male high school students who graduated on time.

Work-Life Balance – Total Points: 30

• Parental-Leave Policy Score: Double Weight (~12.00 Points)
• Average Time Spent on Child Care for Men: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Average Length of Work Day (in Hours) for Males: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Average Commute Time for Men: Full Weight (~6.00 Points)

Child Care – Total Points: 30

• Day-Care Quality Score: Double Weight (~7.50 Points)
• Child-Care Costs (Adjusted for Median Family Income): Full Weight (~3.75 Points)Note: “Family” refers to those with kids aged 0 to 17 years and in which the father is present.
• Pediatricians per Capita: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Quality of State School System: Double Weight (~7.50 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems ranking.
• Share of Nationally Accredited Child Care Centers: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Number of Childcare Workers per Children Under 14 Years: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)

Health – Total Points: 10

• Male Uninsured Rate: Double Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Men’s Life Expectancy: Double Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Male Suicide Rate: Full Weight (~1.11 Points)
• Male Mental Health: Full Weight (~1.11 Points)
• Share of Men in Good or Better Health: Full Weight (~1.11 Points)Note: This metric measures the share of men who reported having good or better health as part of a public health survey, data for which are collected and maintained by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
• Share of Physically Active Men: Full Weight (~1.11 Points)Note: This metric measures the share of men who reported engaging in adequate or any physical activity as part of a public health survey, data for which are collected and maintained by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
• Unaffordability of Doctor’s Visits: Full Weight (~1.11 Points)Note: This metric measures the share of men who could not afford to visit a doctor in the past 12 months due to unaffordable costs.

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 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Education Statistics, National Partnership for Women & Families, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Child Care Aware of America, Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation and WalletHub research.

Image: Syda Productions / Shutterstock.com

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