Raising a family comes with countless challenges, both predictable and unpredictable. The amount and nature of those difficulties can vary depending on where you live in the United States.
A new report from the personal finance website WalletHub ranks the best and worst states to raise a family in 2021, based on 52 family-friendliness metrics like median annual family income, housing affordability and quality of public schools.
According to the report, the best states to put down family roots are Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York and Vermont. The lowest-ranked are New Mexico, Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Hover over the map below to see where your state ranks on raising a family:
In addition to the usual factors like childcare costs, crime rates and number of families with young kids, this year’s report also takes into account a few coronavirus-related metrics ― including weekly positive testing rates and COVID-19 death rates.
WalletHub’s analysis found that Minnesota has the highest median family income (adjusted for cost of living) at $85,473, which is nearly 1.5 times higher than the lowest median family income, $57,450 in New York. New Hampshire has the lowest share of families living in poverty (4.6%), while Mississippi has the highest (15.5%).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nevada has the highest separation and divorce rate (26.07%) ― about 1.7 times greater than the equally unsurprising lowest in Utah (15.74%)
Visit WalletHub for the full rankings and more information about the methodology behind this report.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.