NY Named One of the Best States to Raise a Family In US; NJ, CT Not Far Behind: Report

If you're thinking of starting a family and are looking for good places to raise some kids, you could do a lot worse than the tri-state.

In fact, New York was named one of the top states in the U.S. to raise a family, according to a WalletHub study. Comparing categories such as family fun, health & safety, education, affordability and socio-economics, the Empire State finished ranked 3rd in the nation, trailing just behind another northeastern state, Massachusetts, as well as Minnesota.

In all, WalletHub rated what it called "51 key indicators of family-friendliness." Everything from median family income to housing affordability to unemployment rates were used to determine the list, according to the personal finance site.

New York scored well in family fun (2nd), health & safety (9th) and — what may be a surprise to many — affordability, placing 6th. In particular, the state had the 5th-lowest infant mortality rate in the country, and the 7th-highest percentage of people age 12 and up who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, WalletHub found.

The worst category for New York? Socioeconomics, where the state ranked 46th.

While New Yorkers may get bragging rights, the rest of the tri-state finished very high as well, with both New Jersey and Connecticut landing in the top 10 states for families.

New Jersey was ranked 7th overall, earning high marks in education & child care and (again, somewhat surprisingly) affordability, being ranked 3rd in both categories. The Garden State was in the top five in median family income, child care costs, infant mortality rate, violent crimes per capita, as well as separation and divorce rate.

The state also didn't have any major pitfalls, finishing no worse than 25th in the other three categories.

Connecticut was put at 10th in the U.S., WalletHub found, and was ranked the most affordable state in the nation. It was also top 10 in health & safety (7th) and education & child care costs (8th). It fell a bit lower on family fun (29th) and socioeconomics (31st).

“There are multiple considerations for families. Education will be a top priority – what are the public schools like, how well funded are they and what types of options do they offer? For working families, having options for afterschool care and programs will be important, too. If families have younger children they will want to know about the quality, access to, and affordability of child care and other early childhood programs," said Tovah P. Klein, Ph. D., from Barnard College Center for Toddler Development.

Other states in the top 10 include North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Iowa.

Many of the states toward the bottom of the list are in the south and southwest. Rounding out the bottom of the list were South Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia, New Mexico and Mississippi.

Here's a look at the whole list, according to WalletHub:

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