The 10 Best States to Raise a Family, Ranked

2026-01-15T17:58:43.933Z

WalletHub, a personal finance company, released its “Best and Worst States to Raise a Family” list.
The company compared all 50 states across five categories, including affordability and childcare.
Top states cluster in the Northeast and Midwest; surprisingly, no state in the South made the cut.

With the cost of raising a family so high, where you live matters more than ever — and a move isn’t something most families can afford to get wrong.

WalletHub, a personal finance company, has released its “Best and Worst States to Raise a Family” list, identifying the states that offer Americans the most family-friendly living conditions.

For the ranking, the company compared all 50 states across five categories: affordability, family fun, health and safety, education and childcare, and socioeconomics. The categories were measured using 50 metrics, including the number of attractions, public school quality, housing affordability, unemployment rate, crime and safety, and more.

WalletHub found that the best states to raise a family are concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, regions that are home to many of the country’s top educational institutions, have healthy job markets, and offer a high quality of life.

Surprisingly, not a single Southern state made the list, despite the region attracting thousands of movers with its strong job growth and relatively affordable housing. Read below to see which states made the cut.

Business Insider included population data from the latest available Census figures, alongside each state’s median home sale price as of December 2025, sourced from Redfin.