Having a baby soon? Thinking of having a baby? Well, you’re in the right place according to Wallet Hub. In a recent study, Wallet Hub found that Massachusetts doesn’t just rank high on its list. Massachusetts actually TOPS the list at #1. Another interesting fact about the list, 5 of the 6 New England states are in the top 10. Maine is the only state that did not make Wallet Hub’s top 10 states to have a baby. So how did they come up with this list? What factors are they looking at? Before we divulge the top 13, let’s take a look at all the factors that went into Wallet Hub’s findings.
A big factor into this list is medical costs. Many people don’t think about medical costs when they think babies when in fact, that is a major detail. The charges and fees for just delivering the baby alone can be astronomical. These are some of the categories that were looked at when doing the study: Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Average Annual Cost of Early Child Care: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Average Health-Insurance Premiums: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Current Status of Medicaid Expansion Decision: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Cost of Babysitter/Nanny: Full Weight (~2.86 Points), Cost of Newborn Screening: Full Weight (~2.86 Points).
The other two categories looked at in the study are health care, baby friendliness (mom groups, child care centers etc.) and family friendliness. Each of these metrics were then graded on a 100 point scale to determine the rankings. So it seems if you’re reading this, you most likely live in New England so once again, you are in the right place to have a baby. So best of luck and GET TO PRACTICING! Here is the top 13 states that are the best to have a baby, according to Wallet Hub.
