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Which Are the Best States for Raising a Family?

Parents have more flexibility these days to choose where they want to put down roots. A new study can help them decide.

With remote work on the rise, prospective parents have more flexibility to choose the best places to raise their families. With that in mind, they might want to read a new study by WalletHub, which considers a range of factors to find which U.S. states are best (and worst) for raising children.

The states were scored using 51 weighted metrics across five categories. Metrics used to score the Health and Safety category included the availability and quality of medical care and providers, crime rate, road safety and infant mortality. Education and Child Care points were based on local school quality and graduation rates, child-care costs and availability, and parental leave policies, among others. The Affordability category considered housing costs, credit scores, income and other financial data. The Socioeconomics score was based on rates of unemployment, marriage, divorce, poverty, foreclosure and more. Finally, the Family Fun category gauged each state on things like the share of families with young children and the availability of attractions and recreation centers.

Massachusetts once again topped the chart, helped by a second-place score in Education and Child Care, and a high Health and Safety score. North Dakota placed fourth, up from ninth last year, with the top scores in Socioeconomics and Education and Child Care.

Mississippi, which scored poorly in Socioeconomics and Health and Safety, repeated its last-place finish, while New Mexico followed with low scores in all categories. West Virginia finished 48th, dropping from 45th last year.

This week's chart shows the 10 highest-scoring and 10 lowest-scoring states, along with the categories that most helped or hurt their rankings.

Where to Raise Children

A recent study considered myriad data points to rank all 50 states.

Best

Massachusetts

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Minnesota

Socioeconomics

Affordability

New York

Family Fun

Affordability

North Dakota

Education and Child Care

Socioeconomics

Vermont

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

New Hampshire

Health and Safety

Education and Child Care

New Jersey

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Nebraska

Socioeconomics

Education and Child Care

Iowa

Affordability

Education and Child Care

Connecticut

Affordability

Health and Safety

Worst

Arizona

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Georgia

Health and Safety

Affordability; Socioeconomics (tie)

Oklahoma

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

Arkansas

Family Fun

Health and Safety

Alabama

Family Fun

Health and Safety

South Carolina

Education and Child Care

Family Fun

Louisiana

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

West Virginia

Family Fun

Affordability

New Mexico

Education and Child Care

Affordability; Socioeconomics (tie)

Mississippi

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

Best

Worst

Arizona

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Massachusetts

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Minnesota

Socioeconomics

Affordability

Georgia

Health and Safety

Affordability; Socioeconomics (tie)

New York

Family Fun

Affordability

Oklahoma

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

North Dakota

Education and Child Care

Socioeconomics

Arkansas

Family Fun

Health and Safety

Vermont

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

Alabama

Family Fun

Health and Safety

New Hampshire

Health and Safety

Education and Child Care

South Carolina

Education and Child Care

Family Fun

New Jersey

Education and Child Care

Affordability

Louisiana

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

Nebraska

Socioeconomics

Education and Child Care

West Virginia

Family Fun

Affordability

Iowa

Affordability

Education and Child Care

New Mexico

Education and Child Care

Affordability; Socioeconomics (tie)

Connecticut

Affordability

Health and Safety

Mississippi

Health and Safety

Socioeconomics

Source: WalletHub

By The New York Times

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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section RE, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Family Appeal, State by State. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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