WalletHub did a study ranking the best and worst states to raise a family in 2022… and Massachusetts came in at the top of the list at #1.

In addition to ranking #1 overall, Massachusetts also ranked #3 for education and child care, #6 for affordability, #9 for family fun, #10 for healthy and safety, and #21 for socio-economics. More specifically, it ranked #4 for lowest infant mortality rate.

The study compared the 50 states across 52 key indicators of family-friendliness, including:

  • Highest median family income
  • Most affordable housing
  • Lowest child care cost
  • Most families with young kids
  • Lowest infant mortality rate
  • Fewest violent crimes per capita
  • Lowest % of families in poverty
  • Lowest separation and divorce rate

After Massachusetts comes Minnesota at #2 as the best state to raise a family, North Dakota at #3, New York at #4, and Vermont at #5. New Mexico landed at the bottom of the list at #50, making it the worst state to raise a family in.

Elite Personal Finance took it one step further and listed the top 10 cities or towns to raise a family in Massachusetts – scroll below for the full list.

  • Amherst

    Photo by: Shuttstock/Feng Cheng

  • Bedford

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Wangkun Jia

  • Springfield

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Sean Pavone

  • Northampton

    Photo by: Shutterstock/EQRoy

  • Franklin

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Yingna Cai

  • Longmeadow

    Photo by: Shutterstock/SevenMaps

  • Wilmington

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Wangkun Jia

  • Winchester

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Wangkun Jia

  • Lexington

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Jay Yuan

  • Brookline

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Wangkun Jia

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