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A survey of the best and worst states for families, conducted by WalletHub, has ranked all 50 states by how hospitable they are to families. Factors considered include family fun, health and safety, education and childcare, affordability, and socio-economics.
Massachusetts scored the top spot with high marks in education and affordability. The state was among the top 10 best places for family fun and health and safety as well.
The Bay State did the worst on the social economics category, which considers things like the divorce rate, wealth gap, percentage of families living in poverty, job opportunities, and foreclosure rate.
The next best place to raise a family are (in order from best to not as good): Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Washington, Connecticut, and Utah.
The worst place to raise a child is in New Mexico, according to the study. The state had some of the lowest scores out of any states in education, socio-economics, and health and safety.
The other two states rounding out the worst three states to raise a family are Mississippi and West Virginia.
In addition to the overall ranking, WalletHub provided data on which states have the highest median family income (Minnesota) and which has the lowest (New York).
The state with the most affordable family housing was Iowa while the one with the least was California.
The study also revealed that Massachusetts has one of the highest child care costs in the nation. Only three other states pay more for childcare than Massachusetts - California, New Mexico, and Nebraska.
Massachusetts also has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the nation (New Hampshire has the lowest in the U.S.).
To see where your state ranked and to read the full report, visit WalletHub online.
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