Whether you want to have a child, or already have one, there are plenty of factors to consider. Regardless of which situation you’re in you’ll be pleased to know that according to WalletHub, there are plenty of states you’d be worse off living in.
They ranked each state and D.C. against each other on various considerations, with a 100-point scale. If you’re looking to have a baby, you’ll be pleased to know that we rank 14 out of 50 states, with the following determining factors:
- Cost
- Health Care
- Baby-friendliness
- Family-friendliness
Oregon’s total by category:
- Cost – 24 points
- Health Care – 16 points
- Baby-friendliness – 8 points
- Family-friendliness – 21 points
Our little piece of PNW Heaven came out with an average total of 57.11 out of 100. On the plus side, we didn’t take the worst in anything. Though, we didn’t take the top spot, either.
However, if you already have a family and are trying to plan the best places to raise them, you’d be surprised to hear that Oregon really isn’t one of them. We have neither anything going against us nor do we really have anything to claim as a bonus. At least, that is, according to WalletHub’s 2022 study on the best places to raise a family.
In their 2022 study, Wallethub considered five factors with the same 100-point scale:
- Family fun
- Health and safety
- Education and child care
- Affordability
- Socio-economics
In terms of raising a family, Oregon ranked middle-of-the-road, with very little to give it any sort of point boost:
- Family Fun – 10 points
- Health and safety – 24 point
- Education and child care – 35 points
- Affordability – 11 points
- Socio-economics – 20 points
As you can see, Oregon seems – at least when compared with other states – to be aggressively average, with an overall score of 50.79 out of 100.
Though if you were to look at the “worst of __” sections, you’d notice that Oregon’s name pops up several times. We’re ranked 46 out of 50 in terms of median family salary and 47 out of 50 in terms of affordable housing – not exactly the best things to “win.”
This all goes to show that there are a massive number of considerations to take into account when trying to raise a family. If you find that Oregon is right for you, nobody can tell you otherwise.
But it’s an eye-opening bit of news to see your state’s average income and home cost laid out against every other. And, if we’re being honest, it’s a bit painful.
By Ethan Hauck
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