There are many factors to consider when choosing where to live – things like job opportunities, the cost of living, and local politics. However, if you are considering raising a family, there are other details to consider, many of which are addressed in a new study by WalletHub. The analysis weighed 31 metrics across three categories in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. to determine the best and worst places in the United States to have a baby.
In the first category, medical expenses, infant care, health premiums, babysitting and other expenses were compared and classified. Next, it looked at health care using data on hospitals, medical professionals, fertility clinics, rates of Covid-19 tests, infant mortality, low weight and premature births, childhood vaccinations, and more. The last category was baby and family friendliness, which weighted, among other things, birth rates, parental leave regulations and the number of groups of mothers and daycare centers per capita.
On the results: Those concerned about finding a pediatrician or family doctor after the baby is born might avoid Louisiana with the fewest per capita proportions and consider Vermont with the most. Working parents may also be interested in Vermont, as may Montana, Tennessee, and Colorado, all of which have the most daycare centers per capita. Utah had the fewest.
If we dig deeper, we find that a good rating on a metric is not enough to get a state to the top of the list. For example, Mississippi had the lowest annual infant care costs while Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California had the highest. Even so, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Connecticut ended up in the top 10 overall, while Mississippi came in last.
