After you decide to finally start your family, one of the things you also consider is where to raise said family. If you are lucky enough to be living and working in a progressive area with lots of resources, wide-open spaces, and programs for children, then you won’t even have to consider moving. But if you don’t and are curious, there are great areas and not so great areas.
Personal finance website, WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family.
In order to determine the best states in which to put down family roots, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 40 key indicators of family-friendliness. The researcher’s data set ranges from “median family salary” to “housing affordability” to “unemployment rate.”
Here are the top Best and Worst:
| Best States for Families | Worst States for Families | ||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 42 | Alabama | ||
| 2 | New Hampshire | 43 | West Virginia | ||
| 3 | Vermont | 44 | Georgia | ||
| 4 | Minnesota | 45 | Arizona | ||
| 5 | Nebraska | 46 | Alaska | ||
| 6 | Massachusetts | 47 | Nevada | ||
| 7 | New Jersey | 48 | Louisiana | ||
| 8 | Iowa | 49 | District of Columbia | ||
| 9 | Connecticut | 50 | Mississippi | ||
| 10 | South Dakota | 51 | New Mexico | ||
Here is some breakdown of the best and worst areas.
Best vs. Worst
- Wyoming has the highest median family annual income (adjusted for cost of living), $79,732, which is 1.7 times higher than in Hawaii, where it is lowest at $48,111.
- Utah has the lowest divorce rate, 16.22 percent, which is 1.8 times lower than in the District of Columbia, where it is highest at 29.81 percent.
- Wyoming has the lowest share of families receiving food stamps, 6.17 percent, which is 3.6 times lower than in the District of Columbia, where it is highest at 22.01 percent.
- New Hampshire has the lowest share of families living below poverty level, 5.6 percent, which is 3.1 times lower than in Mississippi, where it is highest at 17.6 percent.
- Mississippi has the lowest child-care costs (adjusted for median family income), 6.16 percent, which is 2.8 times lower than in the District of Columbia, where they are highest at 17.41 percent.
- California has the lowest infant-mortality rate, 4.30 percent, which is two times lower than in Alabama, where it is highest at 8.68 percent.
- Vermont has the lowest violent-crime rate per 1,000 residents, 1.18, which is 10.8 times lower than in the District of Columbia, where it is highest at 12.69.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/