Jan 11

Jan 11 Best - And Worst - Places To Raise A Family

A New Study Shares 2024’s Best & Worst States To Raise A Family

With inflation cooling but still making raising children more costly than usual, the personal finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024's Best & Worst States to raise a family.

To determine the best states in which to put down family roots, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate.

Utah has the lowest separation and divorce rate, 1.7 times lower than in New Mexico, which has the highest rate. New Hampshire has the lowest share of families living in poverty, 3.1 times lower than in Mississippi, which has the highest share.

South Dakota has the lowest average annual cost of early childcare (as a share of median family income), 2.5 times lower than in New York, which has the highest. Maine has the fewest violent crimes per capita, 7.6 times fewer than in New Mexico, which has the most.

“Massachusetts ranks first in large part because it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and lots of job opportunities relative to the labor force. Residents also have high enough incomes to make up for the expensive cost of living,” said Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst. “The Bay State is renowned for its education quality and ranks at the top when it comes to school systems. Plus, Massachusetts is better for children’s health than most states, with the best water quality in the country and a low infant mortality rate.”