10 Best, Worst States to Welcome New Life

Even if having a family has long been on your radar, practicalities still have to come into play when baby fever hits hard—including where the best place is to have said baby in these high-inflation, high-medical-bill times, per WalletHub. The site looked at all 50 states and DC across 31 metrics in four main categories: cost (everything from delivery expenses and insurance premiums to the price of child care); health care, including OB-GYNs and pediatricians per capita, infant mortality rates, and access to prenatal care; baby friendliness (think child care centers per capita and parental-leave policies); and family friendliness overall. Massachusetts tops the list for interested parents, while Mississippi brings up the rear. The 10 best and worst states to have that kid:

Best states

1. Massachusetts (No. 1 in "Health Care," "Family Friendliness" categories)
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. New Hampshire
5. Maine
6. Rhode Island
7. Vermont
8. Washington
9. Iowa
10. District of Columbia (No. 1 in "Baby Friendliness" category)

Worst states

42. West Virginia
43. Oklahoma
44. Florida
45. Arkansas (last in "Health Care" category)
46. New Mexico (last in "Family Friendliness" category)
47. Georgia
48. South Carolina
49. Nevada
50. Alabama (last in "Baby Friendliness" category)
51. Mississippi

See how all the states fare here. (Here are the best and worst American cities for raising a family.)