With the cost of raising a child to age 18 reaching well over $300,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the Best & Worst States to Raise a Family in 2025 to highlight the states that are affordable, safe, well-educated and enjoyable for families to live in.

Certain states make it easier than others to raise a family. The ideal state is one that’s affordable to live in that also offers a high degree of safety and good job prospects, on top of quality education, healthcare and entertainment.

To help people find cities with the perfect combination of those factors, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. Our data set includes factors like the median annual family income, housing affordability, health care quality, crime rate, and school quality.

Raising A Family In Arizona (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• Overall rank – 41^st
• 32^nd – % of Families with Young Children
• 28^th – Child-Care Costs (Adjusted for Median Family Income)
• 32^nd – Infant-Mortality Rate
• 30^th – Median Annual Family Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
• 38^th – Violent Crimes per Capita
• 35^th – % of Families in Poverty
• 43^rd – Housing Affordability
• 26^th – Unemployment Rate
• 33^rd – Separation & Divorce Rate

20 Best States To Raise A Family