Real Estate News

Massachusetts is the best state to raise a family, report finds

By Kelly Garrity -- Boston.com correspondent

January 11, 2022

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Getting ready to start a family? Massachusetts is the place to be, a new report from WalletHub found. 

The Bay State topped the website’s list of the best places to raise a family. The report ranked all 50 states based on 51 factors, from the number of fitness and sports centers per capita to housing affordability and the wealth gap. Each of these metrics was assigned to one of five categories: family fun, health and safety, education and child care, affordability, and socio-economics. 

Massachusetts nabbed the No. 1 spot thanks in part to second place-rankings in the affordability and education/child care categories. The state also boasted the third lowest infant mortality rate and the fifth-highest percentage of residents 12 years old and older who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (meaning they have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one does of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).

Massachusetts isn’t the only family-friendly New England state, however. Three others made it into the top 10: 

1. Massachusetts
2. New York
3. Vermont
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska
6. New Hampshire
7. Connecticut
8. Washington
9. North Dakota
10. New Jersey

Rhode Island just missed at No. 11, while Maine came in at No. 17.

The worst states for families, according to the study, are:

50. Mississippi

49. New Mexico

48. Louisiana

47. South Carolina

46. Oklahoma

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