Where to raise kids in the US for optimal healthcare and wellness

The four best states for pediatric healthcare are bunched together geographically. The four worst are nowhere near each other.

Done guessing? 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont are Nos. 1 through 4, in that order. 

Montana, Alaska, Arizona and Mississippi bring up the rear. 

The list is the work of WalletHub, which ranked all 50 states plus Washington DC. 

The main scoring criteria considered cost, quality and access to children’s healthcare, along with the number of pediatricians and family doctors per capita. 

WalletHub says it also factored in kids’ oral health, nutrition and rates of obesity as well as percentages of youngsters up to age 17 in excellent or very good health. 

Commenting on the findings, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says the quality of children’s healthcare ought to be a priority when parents are deciding where to raise a family. 

“Having access to quality pediatric and dental care, nutritious food and good spaces for recreation from a young age,” Lupo adds, “can give children a much better chance of growing up healthy and forming good habits that will last into their adult life.”

Here are WalletHub’s top 20 states for children’s healthcare.

1. Massachusetts
2. Rhode Island
3. Connecticut
4. Vermont
5. Hawaii
6. New Jersey
7. Pennsylvania
8. New York
9. Iowa
10. California
11. New Hampshire
12. Minnesota
13. District of Columbia
14. Oregon
15. Delaware
16. Colorado
17. Washington
18. Virginia
19. Maryland
20. Nebraska

The bottom 10, meaning Nos. 42 through 51, are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Wyoming, Kentucky, Montana, Alaska, Arizona and Mississippi.

For details, nuances and clarifying distinctions, see WalletHub’s full report.