Study: New Hampshire Is One Of The Best States To Raise A Family

CONCORD, NH — A new study shows the economic state of the state to be in great shape in New Hampshire, so much so that it is one of the best states in the nation to raise a family. Some of those indicators, however, also raise concerns, too. WalletHub.com released its 2020 Best & Worst States to Raise a Family study Tuesday and placed New Hampshire fifth when compared to the 50 states of the union.

The study looked at 50 indicators and compiled them into five ranking categories — Family Fun, Health & Safety, Education & Child Care, Affordability, and Socioeconomics — with subset categories inside those five. New Hampshire placed second in Health, fifth in Socioeconomics, seventh in Education, and ninth in Affordability.

New Hampshire placed first in the nation in lowest percentage of families living in poverty and first in lowest unemployment rate rankings. The state also placed the third lowest in the violent crime category.

New Hampshire's placement was weighed down by average rankings including 22nd in child care costs and 25th in housing affordability. Median family salary was 16th in the nation while separation and divorce rates placed the state 19th.

Child care costs were adjusted for median family income while median family salary was adjusted for cost of living, according to the study. These adjustments, not unlike past WalletHub studies that didn't factor in the fact that New Hampshire has no broad-based taxes when considering cost of living, often change the dynamics of the data, weighing the state down in rankings.

Another factor nagging the state's overall ranking was placing 39th in the Family Fun category.

Inside subset rankings of Family Fun include Share of Families with Young Children, Number of Attractions (which was triple weighted), Fitness & Recreational Sports Centers per Capita, and Share of Children Who Live in Neighborhoods with a Park or Playground. New Hampshire would be hindered by such subsets since it doesn't have large facilities like Disney or Six Flags, has relatively tiny neighborhoods, and is one of the oldest states by age of population. However, the state does have recreational opportunities not counted in the rankings including numerous state parks, hiking trails, lakes, ponds, and rivers for swimming, and conservation areas used recreationally in every community.

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Last year, New Hampshire also ranked fifth on the list, according to WalletHub.

The No. 1 state to raise a family by WalletHub indicators is Minnesota. It was also No. 1 in 2019. New Mexico ranked 50th. Two other states in New England ranked higher than New Hampshire: Massachusetts at No. 2 and Vermont at No. 4. Connecticut came in 9th, Rhode Island 14th, and Maine 18th. North Dakota rounded out the Top 5 in third.

To come to its conclusions, WalletHub used data from the Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, Child Care Aware of America, the FBI, HUD, and other private and public organizations that compile information on families, child, travel, education, and income.

Read the full study at WalletHub.com.

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