MA The Best State To Raise A Family In 2018: Study

Thinking of starting a family in 2018? Where you decide to raise your little ones is more important than you think. For example, a state with a low-income tax rate may also be home to a below-average education system.

Personal finance website Wallethub examined these qualities across the country to determine which combine for the best places to raise a family, and Massachusetts came out on top. To determine its rankings, Wallethub compared the 50 states across 42 "key indicators" of family-friendliness, such as median family salary, housing affordability and unemployment rate. To read more about its methodology, click here.

The Bay State landed among the top 10 in the "family fun," "health and safety," "education and childcare" and "affordability" categories, giving it an overall score of 63.37. The second-place state, Minnesota, received a total score of 62.46. New Hampshire rounded out the top three.

Below are the Top 10 states to raise a family, according to Wallethub:

1. Massachusetts
2. Minnesota
3. New Hampshire
4. North Dakota
5. Vermont
6. Wisconsin
7. New York
8. Iowa
9. Nebraska
10. California

Click here for the full list from Wallethub.

Image via CDC/Amanda Mills