Best and Worst Places for Raising a Family as a Single Parent

It isn’t easy raising a family as a single parent. Still, it’s particularly common in the U.S., where almost a quarter (23%) of children younger than 18 live with a single parent. That’s more than three times the global rate of 7%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Given that, it’s worth asking which states are the best for raising a family as a single parent. We ranked the states based on 10 metrics across four categories — income, affordability, time (including average commutes and average hours worked) and workplace protection.

Stick around for financial tips for single parents, including how to give your children a financial head start with savings.

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Key findings

• California is the best state for raising a family as a single parent. The state finishes with the highest workplace protection score, offering eight weeks of paid family leave a year and up to 40 hours a year of unpaid time to attend school activities. The state also has the sixth-highest income score, thanks to average single-parent household incomes being the second-highest in the U.S. As for affordability, families are eligible for child care assistance if they earn up to $73,855 a year (highest in the U.S.).
• Massachusetts and Vermont are the next best states for raising a family as a single parent. Massachusetts provides insurance that pays up to 12 weeks of family-related leave for workers, while the average single-parent family has an income 250% greater than the poverty level for single-parent families. Neighboring Vermont rounds out the top three with a high child care assistance income limit and a below-average cost of living.
• The 10 worst states for raising a family as a single parent are all in the South or Midwest. Georgia earns the lowest score, primarily for having no expanded protections for family leave. A lack of affordability — mainly due to its low child care assistance income limit — further pushes the state down the rankings. Alabama and Florida are the next-worst states for raising a family as a single parent.
• The states with the highest share of families where the householder parent is single are the District of Columbia, Mississippi and Louisiana. Utah, Idaho and Hawaii have the smallest share.
• Single parents are most likely to be men in Montana, North Dakota and Idaho. Men make up the smallest share of single parents in Mississippi, the District of Columbia and Georgia.

California is the best place to raise a family as a single parent

If you’re looking for the best place to raise a family as a single parent, turn to the Golden State. California lands at the top after analyzing every state (and the District of Columbia) across 10 metrics in four categories (see our methodology for the specifics).

Here are the four categories we scored:

• Income
• Affordability
• Time
• Workplace protection

Notably, California has the highest workplace protection score, in part for offering eight weeks of paid family leave a year. While that isn’t the most paid family leave offered, it’s significant considering the majority of states don’t offer any paid leave. In addition, California offers 40 hours a year of unpaid time to attend school activities — significantly more than any other state. (Similarly,only a small number of states offer this in general.)

California also has the sixth-highest income score. Of note, average single-parent household incomes in the state are $60,235, on average — second-highest in the U.S. These incomes are 44.4% the size of incomes of all families, just outside the top 10 across the U.S. That’s 256% greater than the poverty level for single-parent families.

States with the highest average single-parent family incomes

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

As part of the affordability category, California residents are eligible for child care assistance if they earn $73,885 a year or less — highest in the U.S. That amount is 22.7% higher than the average single-parent income in the state, highlighting that residents can still qualify for child care assistance with an average income. (You’ll see throughout that this isn’t the case across the U.S.)

While high cost-of-living states may be more difficult to navigate as a single parent, LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz says that California’s workplace protection and income scores are likely very valuable to single parents.

“Sure, California is expensive (especially in the big cities), but some of the state’s family-friendly policies can make a really big difference to families,” he says. “Just knowing that you can take family leave or go to your daughter’s concert or soccer game without putting your job in jeopardy is big. That’s especially true with single-parent households. In two-parent households, the parents can share the burden of doctor’s appointments, sick days and other last-minute surprises. When you’re a single parent, unless you have family or close friends willing to step up, all the responsibility is on you. Anything that can help those folks better manage things is good.”

Massachusetts is the next best state for raising a family as a single parent. Similar to California, its high workplace protection score carries it: The state provides insurance that pays up to 12 weeks of family-related leave for workers, tying with a handful of other states as the highest in the U.S. Massachusetts also provides 24 hours of unpaid time off for school events — tying with two other states for the second-highest amount in the U.S.

States that offer the most protected time off for school events (hours per year)

Source: LendingTree analysis of Workplace Fairness data.

While Massachusetts’ income score is relatively low compared to some of the other top states, the average single-parent family has an income 250% greater than the poverty level for single-parent families. Single-parent families make $56,794 annually, on average, in the state. That’s 37.7% the annual income of all families, though this second-lowest behind the District of Columbia, both among the top five for school event hours and overall.

Vermont rounds out the top three, standing out for its affordability. The child care assistance income level in the state is $65,160 — more than $20,000 above the national average across the 50 states and D.C. ($44,417). Those limits are 40.5% higher than the average single-parent income there, meaning more single-parent families are able to receive assistance.

The worst states to raise a family as a single parent are in the South, Midwest

While the South is known for its soul food and tight-knit communities, Southern hospitality doesn’t necessarily extend to single parents. In fact, the three worst states — and six of the worst 10 — for raising a family as a single parent are all in the South. The other four in the bottom 10 are in the Midwest.

Notably, just one of the bottom 10 states — Illinois — offers any workplace protection, with families there receiving eight hours of unpaid time off for school events. Here’s a full list of the states that don’t offer any paid family leave or protected time off for school events:

States that don’t offer any paid family leave or protected time off for school events

Source: LendingTree analysis of Workplace Fairness and National Partnership for Women & Families data.

Georgia is the worst state for raising a family as a single parent. Beyond the state offering no paid family leave or protected time off for school events, affordability is particularly low there. While the child care assistance eligibility limit is $33,688, the average single-parent income is $43,159 — meaning the eligibility limit is 21.9% higher than the average single-parent income in the state. Even with low single-family incomes in Georgia, that means a chunk of these families wouldn’t qualify for child care assistance.

The state also ranks low in the time category, with an average commute time of 29 minutes (above the average of 25 minutes across the 50 states and D.C.) andn average workweek of 39.2 hours (slightly above the average of 38.8 across the 50 states and D.C.)

In Alabama — the second-worst state for raising a family as a single parent — income is a particularly crucial factor. Single-parent families in the state earn $35,510 — just 38.4% of the average income among all families. In addition, the child care assistance limit in Alabama is $28,236 (tied for third-lowest across the U.S.), meaning the average single-parent family earns 20.5% more than the child care assistance limit.

States with the lowest child care assistance income limits

Source: LendingTree analysis of National Women’s Law Center data.

Florida is the third-worst state for raising a family as a single parent. The state is dragged down by its low affordability score, similar to the other states at the bottom. In addition, Florida’s regional price parity is 101.43, meaning it’s costlier to live in the state than the national average.

Full rankings

Where single parents make up the largest — and smallest — share of families

While raising a family as a single parent may be more manageable in some states, where are single parents most common? The District of Columbia tops the list: Across all families with underage children, 39.3% of those in D.C. are headed by a single parent. That’s followed by Mississippi (32.8%) and Louisiana (31.2%).

Notably, poverty rates in those three states are high, ranging from 17% to 20% of residents. According to 2021 research from Kids Count, 29% of single parents in the U.S. lived below the poverty line — compared with 14% of all families.

States with the biggest share of families where the householder parent is single

Source: Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

Meanwhile, Utah has the smallest share of single-parent families, making up just 14.3% of all families. That’s followed by Idaho and Hawaii, at 17.5% for both.

Full rankings

States with the biggest/smallest share of families where the householder parent is single

Source: Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

Single parents are most likely to be men in these states

What about the states with the highest rate of single fathers? Single parents are most likely to be men in Montana, at 31.6%. That’s followed by North Dakota (30.7%) and Idaho (28.6%).

What could account for the higher rate of single fathers in these states? It could be related to the job market. Montana and North Dakota are prevalent in the oil and gas industries, which historically employ a higher rate of male workers.

States with the highest share of single parents that are single men

Source: Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

Meanwhile, men make up the smallest share of single parents in Mississippi, where men head just 12.5% of single-parent families; that’s followed by the District of Columbia (13.7%). Georgia (15.2%) and Alabama (15.2%) tie for third.

States with the lowest share of single parents that are single men

Source: Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

Unsurprisingly, the gap between single mothers’ incomes and single fathers’ incomes is larger in several of the top-ranking states compared to the bottom-ranking states. Here’s how large the income gap is in some of the top-ranking states:

• In North Dakota, men make $34,245 more, on average, than single mothers
• In Idaho, men make $28,337 more, on average, than single mothers

Here’s how the bottom-ranking states compare:

• In Mississippi, men make $22,080 more, on average, than single mothers
• In Georgia, men make $27,899 more, on average, than single mothers

Full rankings

States with the highest/lowest share of single parents that are single men

Source: Analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates) data.

Raising a family as a single parent? Here’s how to keep your finances in order

It’s not easy to raise a child alone — and Schulz says it can be particularly hard financially.

“Raising a child is so expensive, and doing it as a single parent just makes it exponentially harder, especially if the other parent isn’t doing anything to help financially,” he says. “You’re left with no one to share the costs with, meaning your financial margin for error is probably microscopic. That leaves you very little money for building an emergency fund, saving for college or retirement, paying down debt or having some fun.”

Schulz acknowledges these difficulties, especially in the current financial climate. “That’s a situation that many single parents find themselves in every day in this country, and rampant inflation and rising interest rates have made things worse,” he says. “Unfortunately, however, life doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting any less expensive anytime soon.”

Despite the difficulties single parents face, Schulz says there are a few things you can do to ease the financial burden. Particularly, he offers the following advice:

• Don’t be afraid to lean on your support system. “If you’re lucky enough to have trusted family and friends willing to pitch in with child care or in other ways, let them help,” he says. “Obviously, you should proceed with caution, but that type of help can be nothing short of life-changing if it works out.”
• Focus on knocking down your debt. “Eliminating debt is a big deal,” he says. “It can feel like getting a raise at work. Of course, it can definitely be easier said than done, but it should certainly be a goal. If you have good credit, a 0% balance transfer credit card can help, as can a low-interest personal loan. You can also consider calling your credit card issuer and asking them for a lower APR. That works more often than you’d imagine.”
• When it comes to giving your kids a financial head start, building savings is a big deal. “Not only can it help you break the cycle of debt that so many people find themselves in, it can also allow you to help them with their future goals, such as attending college,” he says. “Savings can definitely be easier said than done, but it’s an important goal, and it’s worth doing even if it means it may take you a little longer to pay off your debt.”
• Modeling good financial behavior can be a real help to your children, and you don’t need a ton of money to do it. “By showing kids that you can responsibly manage a budget, consistently save even just a little bit and pay your bills on time every time, your kids can learn important lessons that can serve them well long after they’ve moved out and started their own lives,” he says.

Methodology

To determine the best and worst states for raising a family as a single parent, LendingTree researchers used data from the following sources:

• U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (with five-year estimates)
• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
• National Women’s Law Center
• National Partnership for Women & Families
• Workplace Fairness

Single-parent families or households are defined as a family or household where the householder lives with their minor child(ren) but has no spouse or partner present. Researchers combined data from those sources to create four category rankings, which were then averaged to create a final ranking.

The categories:

• Income
  • The average annual income of single-parent households (Census Bureau)
  • The ratio of the average annual income of single-parent households to the average annual income of all families (Census Bureau)
  • The average ratio of single-parent family income to the federal poverty level for a single-parent family (Census Bureau)
• Affordability
  • The income limit to qualify for child care assistance from the state in 2021; for states where a range was provided based on varying limits by locations within the state — Colorado, Texas and Virginia — we chose the top end of the range (National Women’s Law Center)
  • The percentage difference between the average annual income of single-parent households and the child care assistance income limit (Census Bureau, National Women’s Law Center)
  • Regional price parity for all items in 2021 (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
• Time
  • Average commute time for all workers in minutes (Census Bureau)
  • Average hours worked per week (Census Bureau)
• Workplace protection
  • Statewide paid family leave insurance as of October 2022 (National Partnership for Women & Families)
  • Protected time off for school events in hours per year (Workplace Fairness)

Each data series was scored relative to the highest and lowest values across all states. For each category, these scores were averaged for a highest possible category score of 100 and a lowest of zero. The four category scores were then averaged for a final score. The highest possible final score was 100 and the lowest was 0.

The rate of families with children that are single-parented and the percentage of single parents that are men are calculated from the American Community Survey microdata. Families with children are identified as those where the householder lives with their own child or children younger than 18.