South Florida is one of the worst places for single mothers to live, according to a new study.
The study by Singlemothersgrants.org ranked the Miami metro area — Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties — as the sixth-worst for single mothers, thanks to the shortage of childcare and the high costs of rent and health care.
The study looked at those factors as well as transportation and food costs, unemployment, crime, health care access and education outcomes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to determine its ranking.
“The past year has tested families with high rents, scarce childcare slots, and uneven access to safe neighborhoods and strong schools,” reads the Sept. 14 study by Heather Porter, senior writer for the website, which is an online
directory of grants for moms raising children by themselves.
“For single moms, who carry both the caregiving and the income load, the right community can mean the difference between constant strain and real stability.”
Why does the Miami metro area rank so low?
The Miami area scored the lowest for rent burden out of the 69 metro areas the study surveyed. It also scored low for childcare availability, food cost, health care and education. It ranked higher for unemployment and crime, but received middling scores for transportation and childcare costs.
Maria Ilcheva, a lead author of the Miami-Dade and Broward County Status of Women reports and a research professor at Florida International University in Miami, was not surprised by Miami’s low ranking.
Single-mother households are the most affected by the economic struggles that many families are experiencing in South Florida, and research shows that women generally earn less than men, she said.
There are about 146,000 female householder families in South Florida, she said.
“We're one of the most unaffordable areas,” Ilcheva said. “That unaffordability and cost of living overall impacts the single-earner households most.”
Childcare is a significant expense at about $1,000 a month or more for an infant, she said. While there are programs for subsidized care, many single mothers don’t qualify for them because their income is just barely high enough not to qualify.
Single householder families in the Miami metro area have median earnings of about $44,000 per year — about $3,667 per month — and fair housing rent is about $2,000 in South Florida, she said.
“That automatically eats half of the household budget,” Ilcheva said. “That automatically puts them in the category of severely cost burdened households … and then beyond that, obviously, transportation, food, childcare … These households are either living paycheck to paycheck or they're living on credit, frankly.”
What are the best and worst places to live for single mothers?
The study found that the two worst states are California and Nevada. The five worst metro areas for single mothers, in order from lowest-ranked, are: Fresno, California; the San Francisco Bay area in California; Las Vegas; San Jose, California; and Los Angeles.
On the other side of the spectrum, the study found that the five best metro areas for single mothers, in order from highest-ranked, are: Worcester, Massachusetts; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Omaha, Nebraska; Hartford, Connecticut; and Albany, New York.
“The gap between the best and worst states is huge,” Porter wrote in a prepared statement. “Where you live can decide whether you can get by."
The two best states for single mothers are Vermont and North Dakota, according to the study. The two rural, remote states scored so high because rents are lower, jobs are steadier, childcare costs less or it is easier to find and safety and schools are more reliable there, the study said.
“The Upper Midwest and Northern New England especially stand out for that balance of affordability, calm, and basic supports that show up as shorter waitlists, fewer surprise expenses, and neighborhoods that feel manageable with kids in tow,” reads the study.
The Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, a property tax-funded organization that supports children and families in the county, acknowledged that the area's steep cost of living can make it difficult for single mothers to afford everyday expenses.
“Palm Beach County is a wonderful place to raise a family, with great schools, tons of resources and amazing recreational and cultural options. But housing prices, along with food and childcare costs, can make living here a struggle for too many,” wrote Lisa Williams-Taylor, CEO of Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, in a prepared statement.
“That’s why we’re here. We fund prenatal services for expecting families, and child care, afterschool and summer camp scholarships for working parents, as well as parenting supports and youth development to strengthen communities.”
Maya Washburn is a Trending News Reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida one of the worst areas to be a single mom, study finds
