Idaho Has Now Become One of The Worst States to Raise A Family

Idaho seems to be struggling lately and I think most Idahoans are okay with any excuse to help deter people from moving here. WalletHub just released its list of Best States to Raise a Family. It's not looking good for Idaho it's so bad that even California ranked 22 is listed higher than Idaho.

According to Diana Polk with WalletHub "To determine the best states in which to put down family roots, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of family-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate."

Lauren Jones, who is an Associate Professor, the Department of Human Sciences and John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University when asked what should families consider when choosing a place to set down roots said "Families need to balance the cost of living with the amenities that a community provides. Places with low housing costs can be good for families. However, affordable real estate may reflect the fact that a community is far from employment and educational opportunities. What you save in housing costs you will end up paying in transportation time and costs. Low housing costs may also reflect low property tax rates, which may mean that less social supports are in place."

The methodology: "In order to determine the best states to raise a family, WalletHub compared the 50 states across five key dimensions: 1) Family Fun, 2) Health & Safety, 3) Education & Child Care, 4) Affordability, and 5) Socio-economics.

We evaluated those dimensions using 51 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for family life.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states."