ATLANTA — Georgia is the ninth-worst state in the nation to raise a family, according to a new report that surveyed multiple indicators of family friendliness.
Financial resource analysis firm WalletHub took the evaluation, which looked at key indicators of where the best and worst places were to raise a family across the nation.
Many of the reasons that people move from one state to another are similar -- job transition, better schools, financial challenges -- or even something as basic as an overall desire to move to a completely different environment.
The primary findings of the study show that the best 10 states to live in the nation are Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, Connecticut, and Washington.
On the other side of the coin, the worst ten states are New Mexico, Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona.
The evaluation looked at a number of key indicators, including median family salary, housing affordability, unemployment rate, health and safety, education and child care, infant mortality, violent crime, and even the local divorce rate.
Finally, an intangible factor titled "family fun" was taken into account, which was a catch-all category that included families with young children, fitness and recreational sports centers per capita, and share of children who lived in neighborhoods with a park or a playground.
In developing the report, WalletHub asked a panel of experts to look at five major questions:
- What should families consider when choosing a place to set down roots?
- To what degree is a child’s development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the state they live in? How?
- How can authorities make their states more attractive to young families?
- How might Trump administration policies related to child care and paid family leave affect child and family well-being?
- In evaluating the best states for families, what are the top five indicators?
The panel included Dr. Hilary Seltz, professor of early childhood education, University of Alaska Anchorage; Kelly Chandler, assistant professor, Oregon State University and Dr. Erin M. Casey, assistant professor, early childhood education, instructional leadership and academic curriculum, University of Oklahoma.
The comparison among the states included five major points: family fun, health and safety, education and health care, affordability, and socio-economics.
The points were evaluated through a weighted average across all metrics t produce an overall score.
The data used for the analysis came from the US Census Bureau, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, Child Care Aware of America, Natural Resources Defense Council, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community and Economic Research, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Partnership for Women & Families, TransUnion, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Pew Charitable Trusts, United Health Foundation, Indeed, U.S. News & World Report, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, National Climatic Data Center, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Renwood RealtyTrac, Brandwatch, Zendrive, TripAdvisor and WalletHub research.
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