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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.
Rank | State | Total Score |
1 | Massachusetts | 69 |
2 | Minnesota | 63 |
3 | North Dakota | 62 |
4 | Nebraska | 61 |
5 | New Hampshire | 60 |
6 | New York | 60 |
7 | Illinois | 59 |
8 | Wisconsin | 59 |
9 | Maine | 59 |
10 | Connecticut | 58 |
11 | Colorado | 58 |
12 | Iowa | 58 |
13 | Washington | 57 |
14 | Vermont | 57 |
15 | South Dakota | 57 |
16 | Rhode Island | 57 |
17 | Pennsylvania | 57 |
18 | New Jersey | 56 |
19 | Maryland | 55 |
20 | Utah | 55 |
21 | Virginia | 54 |
22 | Oregon | 54 |
23 | Montana | 54 |
24 | Ohio | 53 |
25 | Hawaii | 53 |
26 | Wyoming | 53 |
27 | Missouri | 52 |
28 | California | 52 |
29 | Kansas | 51 |
30 | Texas | 51 |
31 | Tennessee | 50 |
32 | Kentucky | 50 |
33 | Florida | 49 |
34 | Idaho | 49 |
35 | Indiana | 48 |
36 | Delaware | 48 |
37 | North Carolina | 48 |
38 | Michigan | 47 |
39 | Alaska | 45 |
40 | Georgia | 45 |
41 | Arizona | 44 |
42 | South Carolina | 43 |
43 | Louisiana | 42 |
44 | Arkansas | 41 |
45 | Alabama | 41 |
46 | Oklahoma | 41 |
47 | Nevada | 39 |
48 | West Virginia | 37 |
49 | Mississippi | 35 |
50 | New Mexico | 32 |
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.