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OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Working moms know that balancing a career and motherhood is no easy task. Now a new survey shows that for moms in California, it’s even more difficult than in most parts of the country. In fact, a new survey ranks California number 40 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Precious moments with your little ones, not to be taken for granted. Those tiny hands, grow so fast and before you know it, your baby is off to school. Mothers often forced to choose: work or stay home.
No matter the option, it comes at a high cost in California.
“I loved working it’s like one of my favorite things to do but since I had the kids I had to stop because we didn’t want to put them in childcare,” said Oakland mother of two, Reyna Topete.
A new study out by WalletHub ranks California number 40 in the best states for working moms. It looked at work life balance, professional opportunities and childcare.
“Right now it costs a quarter of the median women’s salary in California for what you’re getting. The daycare quality is typically mediocre at best so a lot of improvement to be had there especially for how much people are paying for that,” said WalletHub Analyst, Jill Gonzalez.
The cost varies, but one Oakland nanny says she typically charge $18-20 an hour.
For one child, parents could be shelling out more than $3000 a month for full time care. For some moms, the grind, cost and lost time isn’t worth the second income.
“My day would probably have had to start at 5 or 6 am to get her to daycare and then drive to BART get into the city and be home by 5 or 6 to pick her up and so really only get like 2 hours a day to spend with her to do everything,” said Oakland mother, Dani Drydyk.
According to WalletHub, most childcare centers in the state are not nationally accredited, and there’s not enough childcare workers for the amount of children.
All that said, childcare in California ranks 49th in the nation.
“That’s kind of sad to hear because you think you’re in one of the best states in the country,” said Topete.
Work life balance ranked 7th in the country, thanks to the state’s parental leave policy ranked 7th in the nation allowing moms time to bond with their babies.
Massachusetts ranked number 1 for working moms. Rhode Island came in at number 2 and Connecticut ranked number 3. To put things into perspective, when considering cost of living, New York ranked number 20 for working moms and number 1 for best childcare system.