The Best States to Raise a Child

The Best States to Raise a Child

On 28 July 2020, CRC released its fourth annual ranking of the best states to raise a child. Here, you will find the:

press release of 28 July
state rankings
individual ranking, by state, of the eleven factors used in the overall ranking
comparison of state rankings, 1995-1998
sources of the eleven factors

Press Release

Washington, D.C. — Iowa is the best state to raise a child, according to the most recently published data analyzed by the Children’s Rights Council, a national child advocacy organization.

Iowa has moved from its rank as 5th in the 1997 report due to reductions in the following: number of children in poverty, single parents, and teen pregnancies. In 1998, Iowa replaces North Dakota, CRC’s 1997 number one state, which now ranks 6th.

CRC’s 1998 4th annual report on how the fifty states and D.C. rank in the raising of children will be released at a press conference Tuesday, July 28th, in the Russell Senate Office Building, room 385, at 11:00 am. Honored speakers will include Congressman Ganske (IA), Congressman Oberstar (MN), Congressman Sabo (MN), and Congressman Gutknecht (MN).

The 50 states and District of Columbia were categorically measured and then ranked in relation to one another based on 11 different criteria. These criteria are the highest public school graduation rate, and the lowest of the following: infant mortality rate, child death rate, children in poverty, teenage pregnancy rate, unwed births, divorce rate, single parent households, crime rate, drug induced deaths, and alcohol induced deaths. "We feel these are the best indicators of how well a state provides a child-friendly environment," said David L. Levy, President of CRC.

"The Best States to Raise a Child" are

Iowa
Minnesota
New Hampshire
Nebraska
Massachusetts
North Dakota
South Dakota
Maine
Utah
Vermont

A complete ranking of all of the states can be obtained through the Children’s Rights Council.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Sherida Colvin, Melanie Woodrow, Lisa Everett, Aaron Washburn, Melissa Gillombardo, or Denise Knipp at (202) 547-6227.

State rankings

State	Rank	State	Rank	State	Rank
Iowa	1	Rhode Island	18	Oklahoma	35
Minnesota	2	Indiana	19	Illinois	36
New Hamphshire	3	Ohio	20	New York	37
Nebraska	4	Washington	21	Delaware	38
Massachusetts	5	Wyoming	22	Arkansas	39
North Dakota	6	Idaho	23	North Carolina	40
South Dakota	7	Colorado	24	Alabama	41
Maine	8	West Virginia	25	Georgia	42
Utah	9	Maryland	26	South Carolina	43
Vermont	10	Montana	27	Nevada	44
Hawaii	11	Alaska	28	Florida	45
Pennsylvania	12	Oregon	29	Tennessee	46
Wisconsin	13	Michigan	30	Loiusiana	47
Kansas	14	Missouri	31	Mississippi	48
New Jersey	15	California	32	Arizona	49
Virginia	16	Texas	33	New Mexico	50
Connecticut	17	Kentucky	34	District of Columbia	51

Factors

State	Lowest Infant Mortality Rate	Lowest Child Death Rate	Lowest Number of Children in Poverty	Lowest Teenage Pregnancy Rate	Lowest Number of Unwed Births	Lowest Divorce Rate	Lowest Number of Single Parents	Highest Graduation Rate	Lowest Crime Rate	Lowest Number of Drug Induced Deaths	Lowest Number of Alcohol Induced Deaths
Alabama (AL)	48	46	35	43	37	43	43	43	16	5	25
Alaska (AK)	15	49	4	25	25	31	10	32	29	30	50
Arizona (AZ)	45	35	48	48	46	46	31	44	38	46	42
Arkansas (AR)	27	47	38	46	40	45	24	12	46	19	19
California (CA)	11	13	43	41	28	20	31	36	14	47	44
Colorado (CO)	34	9	8	27	6	33	5	23	28	41	7
Connecticut (CT)	20	2	37	11	25	2	31	22	42	36	43
Delaware (DE)	32	19	15	32	42	33	44	38	39	44	23
District of Columbia (DC)	51	51	51	51	51	8	51	50	51	16	51
Florida (FL)	21	31	36	35	43	40	44	45	41	28	37
Georgia (GA)	41	39	34	44	41	37	37	47	21	21	35
Hawaii (HI)	5	5	24	21	22	25	5	11	20	37	1
Idaho (ID)	35	42	25	23	2	41	2	13	35	32	10
Illinois (IL)	35	31	29	34	38	6	37	19	50	34	22
Indiana (IN)	21	39	1	33	31	50	10	28	12	7	3
Iowa (IA)	5	13	7	10	9	12	8	5	5	9	6
Kansas (KS)	27	21	12	28	11	17	18	18	11	11	9
Kentucky (KY)	38	28	41	36	21	42	10	34	40	20	21
Louisiana (LA)	45	43	49	42	49	20	49	51	34	27	13
Maine (ME)	1	9	21	5	17	22	18	31	8	6	34
Maryland (MD)	42	21	22	20	35	3	24	25	26	49	12
Massachusetts (MA)	3	1	16	6	8	1	31	14	1	45	8
Michigan (MI)	38	21	26	24	39	17	40	29	10	31	32
Minnesota (MN)	17	5	11	3	4	8	18	3	17	8	15
Mississippi (MS)	50	50	47	50	50	27	49	49	45	10	16
Missouri (MO)	43	28	6	31	34	31	24	27	48	18	26
Montana (MT)	32	41	46	14	15	27	10	6	18	33	40
Nebraska (NE)	37	5	19	7	5	14	4	21	13	3	5
Nevada (NV)	8	35	5	45	48	51	31	35	44	50	47
New Hampshire (NH)	4	4	2	2	3	17	10	37	6	4	28
New Jersey (NJ)	21	13	14	9	16	4	10	4	15	48	30
New Mexico (NM)	18	37	50	47	47	47	44	42	47	51	49
New York (NY)	15	19	42	17	45	4	48	40	32	40	38
North Carolina (NC)	48	28	30	37	29	33	37	41	36	15	41
North Dakota (ND)	18	47	10	4	7	8	2	2	19	1	31
Ohio (OH)	27	21	30	30	32	22	31	20	24	14	2
Oklahoma (OK)	45	45	44	37	24	47	24	26	9	12	20
Oregon (OR)	14	21	33	26	20	27	24	33	23	43	39
Pennsylvania (PA)	27	9	20	13	30	6	10	15	3	39	4
Rhode Island (RI)	13	2	18	16	32	12	40	30	7	42	18
South Carolina (SC)	40	43	32	39	44	15	44	46	25	24	45
South Dakota (SD)	10	5	13	12	19	15	5	1	31	2	46
Tennessee (TN)	43	37	39	40	35	44	40	39	43	25	33
Texas (TX)	12	26	40	49	23	38	18	48	30	29	17
Utah (UT)	8	31	3	15	1	25	1	7	33	35	14
Vermont (VT)	27	9	26	1	10	27	10	8	2	26	29
Virginia (VA)	21	13	26	22	18	22	24	17	27	23	11
Washington (WA)	5	13	23	19	13	39	24	24	22	38	36
West Virginia (WV)	26	31	45	29	27	33	18	16	4	13	27
Wisconsin (WI)	21	13	8	8	14	8	8	9	49	17	24
Wyoming (WY)	2	26	17	18	12	47	18	10	37	22	48

Comparison of State Ranks, 1995-1998

State	1998	1997	1996	1995
Alabama (AL)	41	48	46	40
Alaska (AK)	28	20	20	11
Arizona (AZ)	49	42	39	38
Arkansas (AR)	39	38	41	37
California (CA)	32	32	36	32
Colorado (CO)	24	23	15	31
Connecticut (CT)	17	13	17	8
Delaware (DE)	38	40	25	26
District of Columbia (DC)	51	51	48	39
Florida (FL)	45	45	47	43
Georgia (GA)	42	44	44	42
Hawaii (HI)	11	14	10	17
Idaho (ID)	23	16	13	17
Illinois (IL)	36	33	31	30
Indiana (IN)	19	27	30	28
Iowa (IA)	1	5	4	3
Kansas (KS)	14	21	21	19
Kentucky (KY)	34	29	38	24
Louisiana (LA)	47	49	49	45
Maine (ME)	8	12	6	7
Maryland (MD)	26	31	28	23
Massachusetts (MA)	5	10	11	15
Michigan (MI)	30	34	27	27
Minnesota (MN)	2	3	7	6
Mississippi (MS)	48	50	50	44
Missouri (MO)	31	28	35	29
Montana (MT)	27	22	12	13
Nebraska (NE)	4	8	4	3
Nevada (NV)	44	37	32	33
New Hampshire (NH)	3	4	8	2
New Jersey (NJ)	15	9	16	9
New Mexico (NM)	50	47	45	36
New York (NY)	37	35	42	31
North Carolina (NC)	40	43	36	35
North Dakota (ND)	6	1	3	1
Ohio (OH)	20	30	29	25
Oklahoma (OK)	35	39	34	34
Oregon (OR)	29	25	23	22
Pennsylvania (PA)	11	15	21	12
Rhode Island (RI)	18	24	14	16
South Carolina (SC)	42	46	40	43
South Dakota (SD)	7	11	18	16
Tennessee (TN)	46	41	43	41
Texas (TX)	33	36	33	29
Utah (UT)	9	6	1	14
Vermont (VT)	10	2	2	4
Virginia (VA)	16	19	23	20
Washington (WA)	21	18	19	18
West Virginia (WV)	25	26	26	19
Wisconsin (WI)	13	7	5	5
Wyoming (WY)	22	17	9	10

Sources

Lowest Infant Mortality Rate

Provisional Number of Deaths Under 1 year and Infant Mortality Rates, 1997

Lowest Child Death Rate

Child Death Rate per state. 1995 (deaths per 100,000 children ages 1-14)"

Lowest Number of Children in Poverty

Persons Under 18 Years of Age in Poverty, by State: 1996

Lowest Teenage Pregnancy Rate

Birthrate for Teenagers 15-19 years old, per state: 1995

Lowest Unwed Birth Rate

Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Mothers, per state: 1996

Lowest Divorce Rate

Marriages and Divorces - Number and Rate, by State: 1980 to 1995

Lowest Percent of Families Headed by a Single Parent

Percent of Families with Children Headed by a Single Parent, 1995

Highest Public High School Graduation Rate

Graduation Rates 1995-1996

Lowest Crime Rate

Crime in the United States, per state: 1996

Lowest Number of Drug Induced Deaths

Drug Induced Deaths, 1994

Lowest Number of Alcohol Induced Deaths

Alcohol Induced Deaths, 1994

last updated 29 July 2020