The top 10 cities in America for working parents

Irvine, California has low crime rates and good schools.LagunaticPhoto/Shutterstock

When it comes to paid family leave, the United States is behind the curve. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world without a paid parental leave policy for new parents in place at the national level.

And according to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 12% of private sector workers had access to paid family leave through their jobs in 2015. Since most parents in America are working parents, these are startling statistics.

The number of parents choosing to work outside of the home is increasing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of families with at least one working parent rose from 88.7% in 2014 to 89.3% in 2015. In 61.1% of families with married couples, both parents work.

Paid parental leave is more necessary than it has ever been. But even in states that rate well for their family leave policies (like California and New York), there’s a need for additional legal protections for new and expecting parents.

Read the 2016 edition of this annual study. 

Study specifics

SmartAsset wanted to find the best cities for working parents. So we ranked 464 of the largest U.S. cities using nine factors, including the unemployment rate, the average high school graduation rate and the violent crime rate. We also looked at household income, average childcare costs, housing costs and average commute time.

Much like we did in the 2016 edition of our study, we considered a rating of the family leave policies in every state. To learn more about how we conducted our analysis, read the data and methodology section below.

Key findings

Orem does it again. For the second consecutive year, this small town in Utah ranks as the best place for working parents.Childcare costs are rising. Since we published the 2016 edition our study, the cost of childcare for children up to age 4 has risen in almost every state. In places like Colorado, it has risen by more than 15% since 2014.California earns an A for its family leave policies. Seven cities in California rank among the top 25 cities for working parents. In 2015 the Golden State passed laws that offer paid sick days to many parents who need time off for prenatal and children’s doctor’s appointments.