Working mothers in Washington pay more for child care services than women in any of the 50 states, according to a study released Monday.
Female Washingtonians who pay for nannies, babysitters, and other professional child care have to cough up an average of 26 percent of their annual salary just to have a child taken care of while they are at work, WalletHub’s “Women Who Work” study found.
The lowest child care costs as a share of the median woman’s salary was found in Mississippi, where moms will spend just under 10 percent of their salaries on these types of services.
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WalletHub commissioned the report ahead of Mother’s Day next Sunday. It found 70 percent of mothers with young children are employed.
Although residents in the District of Columbia reported the highest child care costs, the region was ranked in the top five states for working moms. States were ranked according to 15 key metrics, including female unemployment, day care quality and child care costs. One caveat is that D.C. is completely urban, where child care costs tend to be higher than rural or suburban areas, as compared to states that have all three types of areas.
Vermont, Minnesota, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia and Connecticut made the top of the list. At the bottom were Idaho, Louisiana, Alabama, Nevada, South Carolina and Mississippi.
New York’s day cares were rated the highest compared to Idaho, which respondents gave the worst scores for quality.
