Study: Naperville among top cities for working moms, but women make 30% less than men

March 28-- Mar. 28--Naperville ranks among the best cities in the United States for working moms, according to a recent study.

Online life insurance agency Haven Life looked at the 200 most populous cities in the country and rated Naperville as No. 10.

The write-up notes "Naperville is known for being family-friendly as well as professionally-oriented."

Topping the list was Arlington, Va., followed by Madison, Wis.; Lexington, Ky.; the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Orange; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Tallahassee, Fla.

Research shows two trends when it comes to motherhood in the United States.

First, a report from the Pew Research Center showed women are more likely now to become mothers than they were a decade ago.

According to Pew, the share of U.S. women at the end of their childbearing years (ages 40 to 44) who had ever given birth in 2016 was 86 percent, up from 80 percent in 2006.

In addition, compared to previous generations, today's mothers are more likely to be in the workforce.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows women account for almost half of the labor force and 74 percent of mothers with children age 18 and younger choose to work.

Haven Life found some locations fare far better for working mothers than others, based on factors like median salaries, wage gaps, unemployment rates, labor force participation and the cost of child care among others.

The company analyzed statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates and data from the Child Care Aware 2018 Report: The U.S. and the High Cost of Child Care to develop its rating system.

The study shows the median earnings for full-time female workers in Naperville at $65,790, the third highest among the other cities in Have Life's top 20 listing.

Only women in San Francisco at $76,500 and Arlington at $76,438 show higher median earnings.

Although women in Naperville might have higher pay, they make 30 percent less than men in Naperville, where the wage gap is the largest among the cities listed.

Oakland is the only city on this list where women earn more money than men, continuing the trend of California cities having smaller pay gaps compared to the rest of the cities on this list.

Along with higher pay comes a higher cost of child care, and the study shows the average cost of child care in Illinois is $13,474.

That is more than the average cost of center-based infant care in the United States, which now is close to $12,000 per year. Nationwide child care accounts for more than 30 percent of women's full-time earnings.

Unemployment, on the other hand, is low in Naperville, at 1.6 percent. Only Santa Rosa showed a lower unemployment rate of mothers of 1.2 percent in the top 20 list.

Naperville also showed lower figures when looking at the length of a women's work week. Naperville was 39.5 hours, which is less than the average of the 40.6 hours of the 20 cities listed.

The Haven Life report noted not a single Northeast city was represented in the top 20 best cities for working moms. 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.

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