More mothers in the U.S. are working than at any point in the past decade, and many are increasingly building careers around flexibility, remote work, and self-employment.
About 74% of mothers with children under 18 are employed in 2026, while 16% now primarily work from home — higher than the national average for workers overall, according to Coworking Cafe. Self-employment among working mothers has also climbed steadily over the past decade.
This is changing what makes a city attractive for working parents. Researchers evaluating metro areas found that childcare affordability, commute times, flexible work opportunities, and healthcare access now play a major role in determining whether working mothers can sustain careers without burnout.
Midwestern Cities Dominate Large-Metro Rankings
Among large U.S. metro areas, Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked highest overall for working mothers, driven by high employment levels, strong remote-work adoption, affordable childcare, and relatively manageable living costs.
The region reported an 84% employment rate among mothers, while roughly one-quarter primarily work from home. Denver followed closely behind, boosted by one of the country’s strongest flexible-work economies and the highest coworking availability in the study.
St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha rounded out the top five, with shorter commute times and lower childcare costs helping Midwestern metros outperform many higher-paying coastal cities.
The findings suggest that salary alone is becoming less important than whether cities reduce the logistical strain of combining work and caregiving.
Mid-Sized Cities Are Emerging as Flexibility Hubs
Some of the strongest results came from mid-sized metros, where remote work infrastructure and affordability increasingly intersect.
Portland, Maine posted the highest overall score in the entire study, supported by high levels of work-from-home participation and self-employment among mothers. Des Moines ranked second, helped by some of the country’s lowest childcare costs and one of the highest employment rates for mothers nationwide.
Other high-performing mid-sized metros included Albany, Syracuse, and Ogden, Utah, where shorter commutes and flexible work arrangements contributed heavily to rankings.
Researchers noted that these smaller labor markets often offer a balance that larger cities struggle to maintain: professional opportunities without the same pressure from housing costs and long commuting times.
Flexibility Is Becoming Infrastructure
Cities with stronger coworking networks, hybrid-work adoption, affordable childcare, and healthcare access consistently ranked higher, reinforcing how closely workforce participation is tied to local infrastructure.
For working mothers, career growth is increasingly shaped by the practical systems surrounding work, from commute times to access to care.
