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Map: The Best States to Raise a Family in 2025

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Map showing the best states to raise a family in 2025.

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Mapped: The Best States to Raise a Family in 2025

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Today, the cost of raising a child until age 18 costs $310,605 for a middle-income family of four.

For families in urban areas, costs are 27% higher than in rural areas, with housing and food being the largest expenses. As the cost of living has risen meaningfully over the past few years, housing affordability, job market strength, and educational quality remain key considerations for families raising children.

This graphic shows the best states to raise a family in 2025, based on data from WalletHub.

Methodology

For the rankings, states were scored out of 100 based on 50 indicators including:

  • Median family income
  • Educational quality
  • Housing affordability
  • Healthcare quality
  • Paid family leave

Overall, scores of 100 represented the most ideal conditions for raising a family in 2025.

Massachusetts is the Best State to Raise a Family

Ranking first overall is Massachusetts, known for the nation’s best public school system, water quality, and job security conditions.

While the cost of living is among the most unaffordable nationwide, high incomes and low poverty rates help to counteract this difference. Additionally, the Bay State boasts the the third-lowest property crime rates and highest share of health insurance rates among children in the country.

RankStateTotal Score
1Massachusetts69
2Minnesota63
3North Dakota62
4Nebraska61
5New Hampshire60
6New York60
7Illinois59
8Wisconsin59
9Maine59
10Connecticut58
11Colorado58
12Iowa58
13Washington57
14Vermont57
15South Dakota57
16Rhode Island57
17Pennsylvania57
18New Jersey56
19Maryland55
20Utah55
21Virginia54
22Oregon54
23Montana54
24Ohio53
25Hawaii53
26Wyoming53
27Missouri52
28California52
29Kansas51
30Texas51
31Tennessee50
32Kentucky50
33Florida49
34Idaho49
35Indiana48
36Delaware48
37North Carolina48
38Michigan47
39Alaska45
40Georgia45
41Arizona44
42South Carolina43
43Louisiana42
44Arkansas41
45Alabama41
46Oklahoma41
47Nevada39
48West Virginia37
49Mississippi35
50New Mexico32

Scores are rounded.

Following next in line is Minnesota, which ranks second in median family income adjusted for the cost of living.

Along with having one of the top life expectancy rates overall, Minnesota is known for its high-quality public hospitals. Going further, the median sale price for a single-family home in the state was $348,126 as of August 2024, falling below the national average of $385,000.

North Dakota ranks third, with an unemployment rate of 2.5% as of December 2024—one of the lowest in the nation. The state’s thriving energy sector, driven by an oil production boom, plays a key role in its strong job market.

In addition to job opportunities, housing remains highly affordable. The average annual rental costs for a two-bedroom apartment amounts to just 16% of the median income, the lowest ratio in the country. In contrast, the U.S. median income-to-housing costs ratio for renters stood at 31% while this ratio for homeowners was 21.1% in 2023.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from a cost perspective, check out this graphic on the living wage for a family of four by state.

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