Starting a Family in 2026? These Are the Best—And Worst—States to Have a Baby

Welcoming a newborn into the world comes with plenty of sleepless nights, but not just because of the crying baby. Between medical bills, babysitting fees, and parental leave policies, the true cost of having a baby is enough to keep you up even when the little one has been put down for the night.

In the U.S., a typical hospital delivery averages over $15,700, with insured families still paying nearly $2,600 out of pocket on the regular. Depending on which side of a state line you live on, those expenses and healthcare outcomes vary wildly. And that’s not to mention the postpartum problems at hand—from a new mom’s mental health to finding reliable child care once maternity leave runs out.

To see where growing families get the most support, WalletHub analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 31 key metrics. The study measured four core categories: affordability, healthcare accessibility, baby-friendliness, and family-friendliness. Here’s how the states stack up.

The Best States to Have a Baby

Finding paradise as a new parent might seem like a pipe dream, but a handful of states—particularly in New England and the Upper Midwest—make it a possibility.

Massachusetts was named the nation’s best state to have a baby, thanks to a host of factors that help new families get a head start. The Bay State boasts the country’s best leave policies, top-rated neonatal care facilities, and the third-lowest infant and maternal mortality rates. It also doesn't hurt that Massachusetts consistently tops the charts for public education, making it a powerhouse for parenting in the long run.

Minnesota secured second place thanks to lower monthly health insurance premiums (averaging $437) and a high concentration of OB-GYNs, midwives, and pediatricians per capita. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s bronze finish comes down to budget-friendliness. A conventional delivery without complications averages just $9,700 there, compared to upwards of $32,000 in the most pricey pockets of the country.

Here's how the top five states for new parents fared overall:

The Worst States to Have a Baby

Things look a bit different at the bottom of the list, particularly in the Southern and Western corners of the map, where states struggle across cost, care access, and support.

Mississippi landed at the very bottom of the list, weighed down by ranking last nationwide in healthcare quality and infant mortality. Staying down South, Alabama and Florida trailed closely behind in the bottom three, with Alabama’s score tanking due to its bottom-tier baby-friendliness, and the Sunshine State burdened by high delivery charges. While Mississippi and Alabama have some of the lowest infant care costs in the country, that may very well be because access to that care is scarce: both states struggle with shortages of key maternal and pediatric healthcare providers.

From delivery to daycare, the geographic divide gets even starker when you look at the fine print. A baby born in New Hampshire is three times more likely to survive infancy than one born in Mississippi, while families in Vermont have access to seven times as many childcare centers per capita as parents in Indiana. Seeing each state's stats side-by-side makes it clear that not every American baby gets put on the same playing field (or rather, playroom).

Check out the five lowest-scoring states for having a baby below:

More State-By-State Data: