With the average birth costing over $3,000 for mothers with insurance, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
To determine the most ideal places in the U.S. for parents and their newborns, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. The data set ranges from hospital conventional-delivery charges to annual average infant-care costs to pediatricians per capita.
South Dakota ranks 25th overall according to WalletHub. The state is 33rd for Cost, 22nd for Healthcare, 37th for Baby Friendliness and 15th for Family Friendliness.
| Best States to Have a Baby | Worst States to Have a Baby |
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. Nevada |
| 2. Vermont | 43. West Virginia |
| 3. Minnesota | 44. Oklahoma |
| 4. New Hampshire | 45. Arkansas |
| 5. Rhode Island | 46. Florida |
| 6. Connecticut | 47. Georgia |
| 7. North Dakota | 48. Louisiana |
| 8. Washington | 49. Mississippi |
| 9. Iowa | 50. Alabama |
| 10. Utah | 51. South Carolina |
Best vs. Worst
- Mississippi has the lowest average annual cost for early child care, $4,182, which is 3.8 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at $16,056.
- Oregon has the lowest share of childbirths with low birth weight, 6.53 percent, which is 1.8 times lower than in Mississippi, the highest at 11.82 percent.
- New Jersey has the most obstetricians and gynecologists (per 100,000 residents), 23, which is 11.5 times more than in Kansas, the fewest at 2.
- Massachusetts has the highest parental leave policy score, 160, while 9 states, such as Alabama, Michigan and South Dakota, tie for the lowest at 0.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
