Twin Cities ranked 3rd best in U.S. for working moms

Photo: Rmolnar7 / Flicker

​

The Twin Cities area ranks high in yet another national survey--this one on the best cities in America for working mothers. The metro came in third on a list compiled by Forbes.com's ForbesWoman site, trailing only New York and Austin, Texas.

The website evaluated 50 U.S. cities on 11 criteria, including women's incomes, cost of living, the ratio of pediatricians to population, the number of daycare and preschool facilities, and parent satisfaction with local schools.

As usual for surveys like this, the ranking included a couple of dubious categories only tangentially related to working mothers, including the rate of violent and property crimes and the number of local parks.

Among the categories, the Twin Cities ranked No. 1 nationally in the quality of both its health care and its schools. We also placed in the top 15 in income, low unemployment, and spending per pupil.

"Multiethnic, artistic, and altogether 'nice,' the Twin Cities remain under-recognized gems," ForbesWoman gushed.

Unfortunately, the Twin Cities' worst showing (41 out of 50) was in the one category that might be the most important for working moms: daycare and preschools.

You can find the survey here.