The decision of where to call home changes once kids are in the picture. Proximity to exciting nightlife and friends take a back seat to proximity to highly rated schools and reputable pediatricians. Let’s not forget about a low crime rate and a reasonable cost of living.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the many factors that go into choosing a dream home location. To help, WalletHub, the personal finance website, just released a report called "2020’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family."
To determine the best states in which to put down family roots, the 50 states were compared across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set ranges from median family salary to housing affordability to unemployment rate.
Here’s a look at the 10 best states to raise a family:
1. Minnesota
2. Massachusetts
3. North Dakota
4. Vermont
5. New Hampshire
6. New York
7. New Jersey
8. Nebraska
9. Connecticut
10. Washington
At the bottom of the list are:
41. Arizona
42. Georgia
43. South Carolina
44. Oklahoma
45. Arkansas
46. Alabama
47. West Virginia
48. Louisiana
49. Mississippi
50. New Mexico
See each state's ranking by hovering over it on the map below:
Some more interesting findings from the WalletHub Study:
- Minnesota has the highest median family annual income (adjusted for cost of living) at $89,217, which is 1.5 times higher than in New York, where it is lowest at $58,794.
- Utah has the lowest divorce rate at 15.89 percent, which is 1.6 times lower than in Nevada, where it is highest at 26.10 percent.
- Want affordable housing? Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota are great places to look. Steer clear of California, Hawaii, and New York.
- Mississippi, South Dakota, and Missouri have the lowest average annual cost of early childcare (as a percentage of median family income). Find the highest annual cost in Nebraska, New Mexico, and New York.
