Few States Better To Raise a Family Than Minnesota

I'm extremely biased, but I would say that there's absolutely no better state to raise a family in Minnesota, but I'm just basing that on my childhood.

I grew up in Fridley (north side of the Twin Cities), spent a lot of family holidays with cousins and grandparents in Grand Rapids and Cloquet, and summers at a lake cabin up north that my mom's dad built in the 50s. There's obviously more too it -- but it was a great run as a kid.

A new study by the team at WalletHub has determined that Minnesota is among the very best states to raise a family in 2025. In fact, only one state is rated higher than the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

What Makes Minnesota such a great place for parents to raise their sons and daughters? WalletHub compared all 50 states across five key areas: Family Fun, Health & Safety, Education & Child Care, Affordability and Socio-economics.

Minnesota ranked 15th overall in family fun, 10th in health & safety, 18th in education & child care, 2nd in affordability, and 12th in socio-economics.

Top Ten States for Raising a Family in 2025

1. Massachusetts
2. Minnesota
3. North Dakota
4. Nebraska
5. New Hampshire
6. New York
7. Illinois
8. Wisconsin
9. Maine
10. Connecticut

So how do Minnesota's neighboring states rank for raising families? Right behind Minnesota's #2 ranking is North Dakota at a respectable #3. Wisconsin shows up at #8, followed by Iowa at #12, and South Dakota at #15. That's Minnesota and all of it's neighbors in the top-15. Not to shabby.

In case you want to go there, here are the ten worst states for raising a family in 2025 according to WalletHub:

• #41 - Arizona
• #42 - South Carolina
• #43 - Louisiana
• #44 - Arkansas
• #45 - Alabama
• #46 - Oklahoma
• #47 - Nevada
• #48 - West Virginia
• #49 - Mississippi
• #50 - New Mexico