Here Are the Best, Worst States to Raise a Family

Finding the best place to settle down and raise a family can prove a tough choice, with different levels of import placed on the various factors in play, depending on who's being asked. WalletHub looked at more than four dozen metrics in five main categories to help ease the research: family fun (e.g., attractions, fitness and rec centers, and parks and playgrounds); health and safety, which includes pediatricians per capita, water and air quality, life expectancy, and the violent crime rate; education and child care; affordability (including home costs, paid family leave, and family income); and socioeconomics, which looks at such factors as divorce rates, the share of families living in poverty, and job security. Massachusetts shot to the top of the rankings, while Mississippi brought up the bottom. Here, the top 10 and bottom 10 states:

Best States

1. Massachusetts
2. New York
3. Vermont (No. 1 in "Health & Safety" and "Socioeconomics" categories)
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska
6. New Hampshire
7. Connecticut (No. 1 in "Affordability" category)
8. Washington
9. North Dakota
10. New Jersey (No. 1 in "Education & Child Care" category)

Worst States

41. Georgia
42. Nevada
43. Alabama
44. Arkansas
45. West Virginia (last in "Family Fun" category)
46. Oklahoma
47. South Carolina
48. Louisiana (last in "Socioeconomics" category)
49. New Mexico (last in "Education & Child Care" category)
50. Mississippi (last in "Health & Safety" category)

See how other cities did on WalletHub's estimation. (Here are the best cities in America for families.)