Thinking about having a baby in Seattle or elsewhere in Washington? A new WalletHub study ranked the Evergreen State among the 10 best states in the country to have a baby, thanks to its strong health care system and family-friendly policies.
Having a baby can be expensive no matter where you live. In its recent study, WalletHub reported that the average conventional delivery in the U.S. costs more than $15,700, and families with employer-sponsored health insurance pay nearly $2,600 out of pocket on average. Costs vary widely based on health care prices, cost of living, and whether pregnancy or delivery complications occur.
To determine the best places to have a baby, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 31 factors related to affordability, health care access, and family friendliness.
Best states to have a baby:
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- Washington
- District of Columbia
Worst states to have a baby:
- West Virginia
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Texas
- South Carolina
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
While Washington earned an impressive No. 9 overall ranking, it also landed near the bottom when it came to affordability. The state ranked 46th out of 51 for overall costs and had the third-highest average annual infant-care costs in the nation. Only Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. were more expensive.
So what pushed Washington into the top 10 overall? The state ranked 10th for health care, 13th for family-friendliness, and an impressive No. 4 for baby-friendliness.
That baby-friendly ranking reflects factors including Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which provides 12 to 18 weeks of partially paid, job-protected parental leave. The study also considered the number of parenting groups, child-care centers, nationally accredited child-care facilities, birth rates, and Medicaid-covered parenting programs available to families when ranking baby-friendliness.
