State rankings
Single Mom Friendly States
California has the highest Final Score (67.1), followed by Massachusetts (58.5) and Vermont (57.3). Georgia has the lowest (28).
51 of 51 states
Cost-of-living adjustmentConverts wages and incomes to what they would buy at average US prices, so $100k in a cheap state and $100k in an expensive one are not treated as equal.More in the glossary →
Final Score
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
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All 51 ranked
Highest first.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Median
40.5
Middle half 36.45 – 44.8
Average
41.78
51 states
Highest
67.1
California
Lowest
28
Georgia
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
51 states · # = rank by Final Score
| # | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  California | 67.1 |
| 2 |  Massachusetts | 58.5 |
| 3 |  Vermont | 57.3 |
| 4 |  Connecticut | 55.2 |
| 5 |  Utah | 55 |
| 6 |  Colorado | 50.4 |
| 7 |  Minnesota | 50.1 |
| 7 |  Alaska | 50.1 |
| 9 |  Washington | 49.5 |
| 10 |  Maine | 48.3 |
| 11 |  North Dakota | 48 |
| 12 |  Rhode Island | 46.2 |
| 13 |  New Jersey | 45.5 |
| 14 |  South Dakota | 44.1 |
| 15 |  New York | 43.9 |
| 15 |  Montana | 43.9 |
| 17 |  New Hampshire | 43.5 |
| 17 |  District of Columbia | 43.5 |
| 19 |  Wyoming | 43.3 |
| 20 |  South Carolina | 43.1 |
| 21 |  Wisconsin | 42.9 |
| 22 |  Oklahoma | 42.2 |
| 23 |  New Mexico | 42 |
| 24 |  Oregon | 41.7 |
| 25 |  Idaho | 41.1 |
| 26 |  Maryland | 40.5 |
| 27 |  Kansas | 40.4 |
| 28 |  Hawaii | 40.3 |
| 29 |  Tennessee | 39.7 |
| 30 |  Nevada | 39.6 |
| 31 |  Virginia | 39.4 |
| 32 |  Arkansas | 39.2 |
| 33 |  Delaware | 38.6 |
| 34 |  Iowa | 37.4 |
| 35 |  Nebraska | 37 |
| 36 |  Pennsylvania | 36.9 |
| 37 |  Texas | 36.5 |
| 37 |  Michigan | 36.5 |
| 39 |  North Carolina | 36.4 |
| 40 |  Louisiana | 36.3 |
| 41 |  Arizona | 36.1 |
| 42 |  Illinois | 35.7 |
| 43 |  Kentucky | 35 |
| 44 |  Missouri | 34.8 |
| 45 |  Mississippi | 34.5 |
| 46 |  Indiana | 33.5 |
| 47 |  Ohio | 32.8 |
| 48 |  West Virginia | 31.1 |
| 49 |  Florida | 30.1 |
| 50 |  Alabama | 28.3 |
| 51 |  Georgia | 28 |
What correlates with Final Score?
Pearson r against 2,094 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Final Score tend to score higher on these (or rank better)
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Final Score tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest Final Score?
- California has the highest Final Score, at 67.1, followed by Massachusetts (58.5) and Vermont (57.3).
- Which state has the lowest Final Score?
- Georgia has the lowest Final Score, at 28.
- What is the median Final Score across US states?
- The median is 40.5 across the 51 US states with data.
- Where does this single mom friendly states data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Best and Worst Places for Raising a Family as a Single Parent - Lendingtree.