These Are the Top 10 Best States to Have a Baby in 2022
Having a baby while joyous, can often be stressful. Between getting your home ready for baby to working, going to appointments, and paying for care, moms often need a village not only to raise a child but also to help them have one. And just as important as who is in that village, it also matters where it is. From paid parental leave to access to health care professionals like obstetricians and pediatricians, what state you live in can have quite the influence on how easy your experience with pregnancy is.
A new study from WalletHub plots out what US states are best equipped to help parents along their journey. To figure out the most ideal places to have a baby, WalletHub compared the 50 states and D.C. across 32 key measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby- and family-friendliness. So, the top state to have a baby in 2022? Massachusetts, which also took the top spot last year. Below, you can find the rest of the top-ranking states.
Best States to Have a Baby
- Massachusetts
- Vermont
- Minnesota
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- North Dakota
- Washington
- Iowa
- Utah
Why did these states fall where they did? Several factors related to four key measures: cost, health care, baby-friendliness and family-friendliness. Each of these categories were evaluated on different metrics that were rated on a 100-point scale, with 100 being the best conditions.
Massachusetts, the number one state, has the highest parental leave policy score (160) of all states. Paid time off for mom and dad no doubt plays a pretty important role in making a parent’s baby journey easier. Meanwhile, runner-up Vermont had the most child care centers, the third most obstetricians and gynecologists (per capita) and the lowest infant mortality rate.
Of course, there are several aspects that go into raising a child—and where you live is just one of them. One of the best things you can do to help prepare for baby’s arrival is to make a budgeting plan to follow.
To learn more about the data and view the full survey, visit WalletHub.com.
