For working dads, NJ ranks among the 10 best states

A new survey of the best and worst states for working fathers shows New Jersey has a lot going for it.  

The survey, done by WalletHub.com, looked at 20 key metrics for working dads, ranging from the unemployment rate for working fathers with kids younger than 18 to male life expectancy and the quality of day care, according to Spokeswoman Jill Gonzalez.

"Out of the 50 states plus (Washington) DC, New Jersey ranked fifth overall," Gonzalez said.

New Jersey's best marks were in child care and economic and social well-being for fathers. Gonzalez said many fathers spend a lot of time each workday commuting, some out-of-state.

"It could use a little bit of improvement for the work/life balance, and that ranked 29th," she said.

According to Gonzalez, so many people from New Jersey are commuting in and out of the state to New York, to Pennsylvania, that is where a lot of that work/life balance is lost, especially in commute time.

The WalletHub.com study also showed that on a scale of 1 (best) to 25 (average), New Jersey held the following rankings:

• 13th for the percentage of men who reported adequate, or any, physical activity, according to information provided annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
• 16th in terms of day care quality;
• 15th for child care costs;
• 24th for the number of males who are uninsured;
• 9th for the number of dads with kids younger than 18 years old living in poverty;
• 26th for mean hours worked per day among men;
• 10th for male life expectancy at birth; and
• 8th for median income for families with kids younger than 18 years old.

This is the first year of the WalletHub.com survey for working dads," Gonzalez said. "Fatherhood has long abandoned its 1960s definition, and working dads are now a whole separate category. So that is why we gave the dads some attention."

Nationwide, the survey showed that Minnesota was the best state for working dads overall, while Mississippi was the worst.