It’s not easy being a father in the 21st century. Expectations for fatherhood have changed dramatically in just a few decades. For example, more than 60% of family households today require two incomes, meaning the dad no longer fits neatly into the social category of the male breadwinner. Moreover, family dynamics continue to evolve relatively rapidly and that is having a dramatic impact on social and legal expectations for fathers.
With Father’s Day 2015 approaching, WalletHub decided to take a closer look at the work-life balance, health conditions, financial circumstances and child-rearing conditions for working dads in the U.S. by examining 20 key metrics. The data behind the metrics in WalletHub’s 2015’s Best and Worst States for Working Dads List includes the unemployment rate for dads with kids younger than 18, male life expectancy and day care quality on a per-state basis.
Best states for working dads
According to WalletHub’s 2015’s Best and Worst States for Working Dads List, Minnesota is the best state for a hard-working father to raise a family. Minnesota was ranked third in Economic & Social Well-Being, 12th in Health, third in Work-Life Balance and 11th in Child Care. New Hampshire was ranked second on Wallethub’s list. The Granite State was ranked first in Economic & Social Well-Being, fourth in Health, 43rd in Work-Life Balance and fourth in Child Care. Massachusetts came in third on the 2015 list of best states for working dads, with a Economic & Social Well-Being rank of 8th, a Health rank of first, a Work-Life Balance rank of 23 and a rank of fifth in Child Care.
Worst states for working dads
Arkansas came in 49th on WalletHub’s 2015’s Best and Worst States for Working Dads List. The Natural State ended up with a rank of 44th in Economic & Social Well-Being, 50th in Health, 35th in Work-Life Balance and 41st in Child Care. Drought-stricken Nevada was placed 50th overall on WalletHub’s list, and was ranked 49th in Economic & Social Well-Being, 46th in Health, 15th in Work-Life Balance and 50th in Child Care. Mississippi was ranked in last place on the 2015 best states for working dads list. The Magnolia State was ranked 27th in Economic & Social Well-Being, 51st in Health, 50th in Work-Life Balance and 50th in Child Care.
