Deciding where to live when raising a family isn’t easy. There is a wide range of important factors you have to consider to ensure your child has the best chance of success and happiness.
Whilst most of the United States is pretty great when it comes to raising a family, some states are better than others.
Despite America being one of the best countries in the world to raise a family, some states have better schools, more affordable colleges, a better quality of public spaces, and so on.
Bearing this in mind, you might want to reconsider where you want to live with your family. The fact you’ve stumbled across this post suggests you’re already thinking about it. If you are, you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we’re going to show you the 10 best states for families. If you’re keen to find the best place to live with your family, stick around!
What Do You Need To Consider When Picking A State To Raise Your Family?
If you have your heart set on moving and you want to find the best state for raising a family, there are a number of key things you have to think about.
If you don’t think about these things, you could quite easily move from a state that’s better for families and move into one that isn’t as good.
To give you a good idea of the sorts of things that make a state better for families, we’ve listed some of the key factors you have to consider below.
Crime Rates
One of the most important factors you have to consider is crime rates. No matter how you look at it, states with higher crime rates aren’t as safe for your family. The difference in crime rate across states varies dramatically too.
For example, the crime rate in Maine is just one-seventh of that in New Mexico and Alaska.
Cost Of Living
Raising a family isn’t cheap, therefore, you might want to live somewhere that offers value for money. You might think this is pretty standard across the U.S. but it isn’t. Take Hawaii for example. The cost of living in Hawaii is twice as high than 20 states.
Academic Performance
Unfortunately, education across America isn’t a level playing field. The sad truth is that states like Massachusetts have an academic performance that’s almost 10% higher than other states.
Quality Of Outdoor Spaces
The quality of outside spaces in neighborhoods is also important if you want your child to enjoy time outside. Neighborhoods in states like Colorado are almost three times more likely than states like Mississippi to have parks, sidewalks, and other amenities.
Cost Of College
The cost of college will also impact your decision. States like Vermont have the most expensive colleges in the states so you might not be able to afford tuition. On the other hand, the cost of college in Wyoming is almost a third of the cost.
The Best States In The U.S. For Families
Now you know more about the factors taken into consideration, we can start looking at the best states for families. To do this, we’ll be taking the factors above into account and research carried out by the likes of WalletHub.
A number of studies, including WalletHub’s study, put Massachusetts in the top spot when it comes to raising a family in the U.S.
Massachusetts scores highly for academic performance, daycare availability, access to neighborhood amenities, and low crime rates. In fact, Massachusetts is the sixth safest city in the United States.
Not to mention, this state is also a beautiful state to live in, packed with bustling cities, a rich history, and plenty of things to do. The only downside to Massachusetts is that it is expensive.
Another safe state to raise a family in is Minnesota. Best known for its health & safety, socio-economics, and affordability, this state has a lot to offer families. Interestingly, the state also happens to have the second-lowest share of families living in poverty.
Minnesota also offers a lot in terms of amenities, excellent schools and colleges, friendly neighborhoods, and high salaries. As a matter of fact, the median family income in Minnesota is almost $100,000.
The next state on our list is New Jersey. New Jersey is a family-friendly state with a lot to offer. Aside from scoring highly in most categories, New Jersey is also a place of great beauty, excitement, and entertainment.
Without a doubt, your children will have fun growing up in New Jersey. Statistically speaking, New Jersey is one of the best states when it comes to crime rates, daycare options, child health, youth checking accounts, and neighborhood amenities.
Utah is a wonderful place for families. There is an abundance of amenities found in every neighborhood, incredible outdoor spaces to explore, some of America’s most historic sites, and some of the United States’ best schools and colleges.
If colleges are important to your family, Utah is one of the best places you can live. The state consistently falls in the top 10 states for academic performance and affordability.
Similar to its neighboring states, Connecticut is an expensive place to live. Whilst this might put some families off, it is important to consider the other things the state has to offer.
Connecticut is one of the safest states in America, the state has excellent academic performance, and there is greater access to daycare options than in most other states. Not to mention, Connecticut is one of the most charming states to live in.
North Dakota is easily one of the best states in America to raise a family. This state sits second in the nation for education & child care, first for socio-economics, and third for the highest median family income.
That’s not all though, as North Dakota also ranks third for most affordable living. With average rents low and salaries high, families can get a lot more bang for their buck in North Dakota.
Vermont is another one of the United States’ safest cities, having the fourth lowest crime rate in America. Vermont also offers a lot in terms of health & safety, education, socio-economics, and child care.
One extra thing worth considering is that Vermont is also thought to be the healthiest state in America. The state has the highest public health funding in the states.
Of course, Vermont is also a beautiful place to live, with plenty of outdoor space and activities to engage in.
This next one might surprise you, but New York is actually one of the best places in America for families. Usually ranked in the top five states for families, New York has a lot to offer in terms of family fun, education, and surprisingly, affordability.
By far one of the best things about New York for families is the number of things to do. New York has a wide range of exciting attractions, activities, tourist hotspots, and more. This makes it a very entertaining place to live.
The penultimate state on this list is Wyoming. If you’re already thinking ahead to college, this state is arguably the best. Sitting in the top 10 when it comes to academic performance, Wyoming has the lowest tuition fees in the United States.
This makes college much more accessible and affordable for your children. Wyoming is also up there for child health, daycare options, affordability as a whole, neighborhood amenities, and crime rate.
The final state on our list is New Hampshire. New Hampshire is the second-best state in the United States in regard to academic performance and crime rate.
As a result, you can expect your child to have a safe upbringing and an excellent education if you decide to live here.
New Hampshire is also a solid choice when it comes to attractions and amenities the state has to offer, availability of daycare options, and overall happiness. The only downside to the state is that it is the second most expensive state to send your child to a public college.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, the best states in America for families. As you can see from our list, the United States is blessed with a wide range of states perfect for families.
Whilst this list could have gone on and on with more options, we firmly believe that we’ve shown you the best of the best. Our list detailed 10 states that have been ranked the best for families in the United States by various studies.
Every state on our list offers excellent facilities, brilliant academic performance, safety, fun, and good health care. Now you’ve made your way through our list, have we tempted you to make the move to a new state?
Hi, I’m Joan Crassel, and I started my firm in 2006, with the goal to help and represent clients in a range of adoption-related matters.
Since then, the firm has gone on to aid hundreds of clients in adoption proceedings, and in other areas of family law.
With this site, I hope that you can find all of the answers that you are looking for, with in depth guides and informative articles from lawyers, not bloggers or social media influencers. We have actual first-hand knowledge of the adoption process, and can provide you with insight that no one else can.
