What do Forbes “Best Cities for Working Mothers” have in common in addition to job opportunities, high earning potential, short commutes, easy access to health care and above average expenditure on education? Au pairs!
Yesterday, Forbes published their annual list of the best cities for working mothers and, in 90% of the cities, working mothers are choosing Cultural Care au pairs for their childcare.
Top of the list this year? Columbus,Ohio. Julie Christiansen, one of Cultural Care’s local childcare coordinators in Columbus says, “Columbus is a terrific city — it offers so much for everybody. Even though we are a large city, it’s about a 20 minute drive to anything. Maybe it’s because we are in the mid-west, but there is definitely a hometown feeling living here, yet it offers all that a big city has to offer without the headaches.” Julie also said that, “Working moms here seem to be looking for child care that provides flexibility and gives them more quality time with their families. They know how important work life balance is!”
To determine the rankings of the best cities for working mothers, Forbes:
- Took the largest 50 metropolitan areas by population
- Tracked women’s weekly earnings from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Counted the number of practicing physicians
- Calculated the school district per-pupil expenditure, provided by Sperling’s Best Places
- Checked violent crime rates as reported annually by the FBI Uniform Crime Report
- Considered childcare costs on the state level as reported by NACCRRA
- Figured in the cost of living from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index
- Added in the time commuting found in Cities Ranked and Rated
They determined that the 20 best cities for working moms are:
- Colmbus,OH
- New Orleans,LA
- Hartford,CT
- Cincinnati,OH
- Providence,RI
- Birmingham,AL
- Cleveland,OH
- Richmond,VA
- Buffalo,NY
- Louisville,KY
- Pittsburgh,PA
- Milwaukee,WI
- Indianapolis,IN
- Raleigh,NC
- San Jose,CA
- Austin,TX
- Virginia Beach,VA
- Kansas City,MO
- Mashville,TN
- St. Louis,MO
Do you live in one of these cities? If so, why do you think it made the list?