Massachusetts named best state to raise a family in US – NBC Boston

If you’re thinking of starting a family and looking for great places to raise kids, you could do a lot worse than New England.

In fact, Massachusetts has been named the best state in the United States to raise a family, according to a WalletHub study. Comparing categories such as family fun, health and safety, education, affordability, and socioeconomics, Bay State ranked first in the nation, beating Minnesota and New York. .

In all, WalletHub Ranking what he called “51 key indicators of family friendliness”. Everything from median family income to housing affordability to unemployment rates was used to determine the list, according to the personal finance site.

Massachusetts performed well in the areas of education and child care (second), affordability (second), and health and safety (fifth). It also placed ninth for family fun. The worst category for Massachusetts? Socioeconomics, where the state ranked 22nd.

While Massachusetts residents might have bragging rights, the rest of New England also finished very high, with Vermont and New Hampshire finishing in the top five. Vermont finished fifth, immediately followed by New Hampshire in sixth place.

Connecticut and Rhode Island came in 10th and 11th respectively, and Maine placed 16th.

Vermont ranked first for health and safety and second for socioeconomics, while New Hampshire was third for health and safety. Connecticut was ranked first for affordability.

Other states in the top 10 include North Dakota, New Jersey, Nebraska and Iowa.

Most of the states down the list are in the south and southwest. At the bottom of the list were South Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia, New Mexico and Mississippi.

Here is an overview of the whole list, according to WalletHub:

1. Massachusetts
2. Minnesota
3. New York
4. North Dakota
5. Vermont
6. New Hampshire
7. New Jersey
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa
10. Connecticut
11. Rhode Island
12. Washington
13. Illinois
14. South Dakota
15. Utah
16. Maine
17. Wisconsin
18. Pennsylvania
19. Maryland
20. Colorado
21. Virginia
22. California
23. Hawaii
24. Oregon
25. Montana
26. Texas
27. Wyoming
28. Missouri
29. Kansas
30. Delaware
31. Ohio
32. Florida
33. Tennessee
34. Indiana
35. Idaho
36. Michigan
37. Kentucky
38. Alaska
39. North Carolina
40. Nevada
41. Arizona
42. Georgia
43. Oklahoma
44. Arkansas
45. Alabama
46. Caroline from the south
47. Louisiana
48. West Virginia
49. New Mexico
50. Mississippi