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How Does Your State Compare With Others When It Comes to Working Dads? New Map Has the Answer
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How Does Your State Compare With Others When It Comes to Working Dads? New Map Has the Answer

Father's Day is on Sunday, and in honor of all the dads who work so hard, we thought we'd take a look at at the states that rank the best – and worst – for working pops.

WalletHub used a number of criteria to rank each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia in order of best to worst for working fathers. Among the factors considered: state median incomes, unemployment rate, average commute times and quality of day care.

Take a look at how your state did:

The five top-ranked states are:

1. Minnesota

2. New Hampshire

3. Massachusetts

4. Vermont

5. New Jersey

The five bottom-ranked states are:

47. Louisiana

48. West Virginia

49. Arkansas

50. Nevada

51. Mississippi

The various criteria were divided into four categories: day care, work-life balance, health, and economic and social well-being. Each of the factors carried with them a certain number weight and contained within each category were more specific factors assigned either "full weight" or "double weight" influence. The designated weights tell the extent to which a category as a whole or a specific factor within a category contributed to the overall ranking seen above.

Here's a breakdown of the four categories:

Day care

• “Day care quality” score: Double weight

• Child care costs (adjusted for the median income for families [dad present]): Full weight

• Access to pediatric services (number of pediatricians per 100,000 residents): Full weight

• WalletHub’s “best school systems” ranking: Double weight

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Work-life balance

• “Parental leave policy” score: Full weight

• Average hours worked per day among males: Full weight

• Average commute time for men: Full weight

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Health

• Male uninsured rate: Full weight

• Men’s life expectancy at birth: Full weight

• Heart disease mortality rate (per 100,000 men): Full weight

• Number of colorectal cancer cases per 100,000 men: Full weight

• Number of prostate cancer cases per 100,000 men: Full weight

• Number of urologists per 100,000 men: Full weight

• Suicide rate (per 100,000 men): Full weight

• Percentage of men who reported adequate or any physical activity: Full weight

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Economic and social well-being

• Median income for families (dad present) with kids younger than 18 years (adjusted for cost of living): Full weight

• Unemployment rate for dads with kids younger than 18 years: Full weight

• Percentage of dads with kids younger than 18 years living in poverty: Full weight

• Share of men-owned businesses: Full weight

• High school dropout rate for men: Full weight

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Data from a number of sources were used to determine the results, including the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  National Center for Education Statistics, National Partnership for Women & Families, American Urological Association, Social Science Research Council and Child Care Aware.

Head over to WalletHub for a more detailed summary of the findings.

Follow Jon Street (@JonStreet) on Twitter

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