These Are the Best Cities for Working Moms

One day we’ll collectively evolve into a society that fully supports the struggles of juggling work and parenting. But until we can get everyone (employers, specifically) to get on board with stuff like paid family leave, here’s a list of cities that are the best—and not so great—for working moms.

First, the not so good news—the list excludes an entire region of the country, which isn’t exactly promising for mothers in the Northeast.

“Not a single Northeast city is represented in the top 20 best cities for working moms,” according to Haven Life, which conducted the study. “Based on the composite score, cities in the West, the South, and the Midwest tend to offer better conditions for women balancing work and family life.”

That’s not great, but also not exactly a surprise considering Northeastern cities don’t have as many cheap home options as other areas in the US, an obvious turnoff for a working mom with added (pricey!) expenses like childcare.

The list ranks each metropolitan area based on several factors such as the local employment rate of mothers, the average length of women’s work week, the average cost of child care across the state, median earnings for full-time female workers, and the percentage of married-couple mothers in the area workforce.

Arlington, VA sits at the top of the list, based in part on its average child care costs, which the site notes are “less than 20 percent of the median salary for women” despite being higher than the national average.

Coming in second is Madison, WI followed by Lexington, KY. Rounding out the top five are Oakland – the sole city on the list where women outearn men – and San Francisco, which is touted for its major tech and international business industries and the median earnings for full-time female workers, which is the highest on the list.

See more over on Haven Life.