PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked No. 13 on a list of the best states to have a child in a WalletHub report Monday.
Rhode Island ranked lower than any other New England state in the study.
The study weighted 20 metrics in the following categories: costs, health care, baby-friendliness and family friendliness.
Rhode Island ranked No. 14 in the nation for health care, which considered statistics for things such as the infant mortality rank, the maternal mortality ratio, the rate of low birth-weight and the share of children with all seven recommended vaccines. Vermont ranked No. 1 in the nation for health care.
Rhode Island ranked No. 43 for cost, which accounted for hospital cesarean-delivery charges, hospital conventional delivery charges, the average annual cost of early child care and the average health-insurance premium. Mississippi ranked No. 1 in the nation for cost.
Rhode Island ranked No. 7 for baby-friendliness in the study, which reflected a parental-leave policy score, mom groups per capita, child-care centers per capita and the share of nationally accredited child-care centers.
Rhode Island ranked No. 18 for family friendliness, which was based on a previous WalletHub study that was based on 40 different metrics.
Vermont ranked No.1 overall in the study, followed by Minnesota (No. 2), New Hampshire (No. 3), Connecticut (No. 4), North Dakota (No. 5), Massachusetts (No. 6) and Maine (No. 7).
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
