In life, we’re sometimes presented with opportunities that may require us to move to a new state. There are a variety of reasons: careers, schools, financial issues, to be closer to family, or just looking for a change. And if you have a family, it can be a tough decision to make. While there may be pros to moving to a different state, there may also be cons. The true question is which one outweighs the other. And what are the best states for families?
You may run into a situation where a state may have a low income tax rate, but the education system could use some work. But not all moves will require you to make sacrifices in areas that are important to you and your family.
Research
WalletHub put in the work to look at the best and worst states to raise a family. They compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of family friendliness. The main 5 key dimensions include: family fun, health & safety, education & child care, affordability, and socio-economics.
Unfortunately, Georgia and South Carolina didn’t rank well in this study. Georgia ranked at number 41 out of 50. Sadly, Georgia ranked in the top 5 states with the highest infant mortality rate. South Carolina was even further down the list at 47 out of 50; but did rank in the top 5 states with the lowest child care costs.
While Georgia was ranked in the middle for family fun, the state didn’t fare well in the areas of health & safety, or affordability. As for the areas of education & child care and socio-economics, the numbers aren’t stellar.
At 47 out of all the states, the numbers definitely don’t look great for South Carolina. The state ranked very low in all of the 5 areas, with the best ranking in socio-economics (36 out of 50).
Check out the top 10 best and the top 10 worst states listed below!
10. New Jersey
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 57.01 21 14 1 4 41 
9. North Dakota
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 57.57 31 17 3 15 2 
8. Washington
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 57.58 8 18 26 3 16 
7. Connecticut
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 57.67 29 7 7 1 38 
6. New Hampshire
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 58.38 34 2 9 24 5 
5. Nebraska
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 58.49 17 10 12 14 4 
4. Minnesota
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 58.79 13 9 22 9 7 
3. Vermont
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 59.15 44 1 4 30 1 
2. New York
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 61.81 2 8 5 6 46 1. Massachusetts
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 65.21 9 3 2 2 24 
10. Georgia
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 39.83 25 46 39 42 35 
9. Nevada
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 38.96 4 45 49 49 49 
8. Alabama
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 38.34 47 44 41 17 31 
7. Arkansas
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 37.91 48 43 36 29 28 
6. West Virginia
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 37.69 50 22 43 41 22 
5. Oklahoma
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 37.19 41 48 44 36 34 
4. South Carolina
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 37.09 42 41 42 46 36 
3. Louisiana
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 34.66 18 49 48 31 50 
2. New Mexico
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 30.79 35 42 50 45 48 
1. Mississippi
Total Score Family Fun Health & Safety Education & Child Care Affordability Socio-economics 30.47 49 50 37 32 47 