In 1996, Redbook declared Raleigh, North Carolina, one of the best cities for working moms. Yet, recent census statistics illustrate that the state has room for improvement. Thirteen percent of families with children under 18 years of age live below the poverty line, while slightly more than 27 percent of all homes headed by women are living in poverty. Almost 35 percent of female-headed households with children under age 18 live in poverty, and that number jumps to close to 46 percent when the children are under age 5. In 2006, almost 7 percent of the total population was age 5 or under.

North Carolina is separated into three distinct geographic regions: the coastal region in the east; the central piedmont; and the western mountains where ...