All Info › Rankings
Best States for Families
Where to raise kids — ranked by school quality, neighborhood safety, and housing affordability across all 50 states + DC.
Families weigh schools, safety, and the cost of putting a roof over kids' heads. We rank every state on three composite factors drawn from NCES schools data, FBI crime statistics, and HUD + Zillow housing costs.
How we scored each state
Each factor is normalized 0–100 against the actual 51-state distribution (min → 0, max → 100; inverted when lower is better). The composite is a weighted average; states missing data for a factor receive a neutral 50 so all 51 still rank.
Full 51-State Ranking
| # | State | School Completion | Per-Pupil Spending | Low Student-Teacher Ratio | Low Violent Crime | Low Property Crime | Affordable Housing | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 2 | Alaska | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 3 | Arizona | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 4 | Arkansas | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 5 | California | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 6 | Colorado | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 7 | Connecticut | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 8 | Delaware | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 9 | District of Columbia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 10 | Florida | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 11 | Georgia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 12 | Hawaii | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 13 | Idaho | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 14 | Illinois | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 15 | Indiana | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 16 | Iowa | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 17 | Kansas | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 18 | Kentucky | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 19 | Louisiana | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 20 | Maine | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 21 | Maryland | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 22 | Massachusetts | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 23 | Michigan | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 24 | Minnesota | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 25 | Mississippi | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 26 | Missouri | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 27 | Montana | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 28 | Nebraska | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 29 | Nevada | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 31 | New Jersey | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 32 | New Mexico | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 33 | New York | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 34 | North Carolina | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 35 | North Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 36 | Ohio | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 37 | Oklahoma | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 38 | Oregon | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 39 | Pennsylvania | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 40 | Rhode Island | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 41 | South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 42 | South Dakota | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 43 | Tennessee | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 44 | Texas | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 45 | Utah | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 46 | Vermont | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 47 | Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 48 | Washington | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 49 | West Virginia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| 51 | Wyoming | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
Scores are normalized 0–100; higher is better. Click any state name for the full state profile.
FAQ
What factors matter most when choosing a state for your family?
Three things dominate parent decisions: school quality (which scales with per-pupil spending and class size), neighborhood safety (violent and property crime rates), and housing affordability (the median price you'll actually pay for a home in that state).
Where does this education data come from?
School completion rates come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Per-pupil spending and student-teacher ratios come from NCES via Mubboo's policy_education dataset. Both are refreshed annually as new federal data lands.
Why are urban states with high home values often lower-ranked?
Housing affordability is weighted equally with school quality and safety. States like California or Hawaii score well on schools and crime but their housing factor drags the composite down. The ranking favors states that score consistently across all three dimensions rather than excelling in one.
How were the weights chosen?
Education (50% combined: 20% completion + 20% spending + 10% ratio), Safety (30% combined: 20% violent + 10% property), and Affordability (20%). These reflect average parent priorities in published consumer research — adjust mentally if your priorities differ.
Mubboo Editorial Team. Cross-domain rankings combine state-level data from multiple Mubboo Info datasets — see the methodology table above for per-factor sources. Datasets refresh annually; rankings recompute every 24 hours. See our full methodology →
Explore other topics
Browse data and guides across all major life topics.